The Newspaper Room and the Maternity Ward
by LiteratiLady
Summary: Rory gets a job at a Hartford paper and an old flame reappears in her life as well as a new boss. Lorelai and Luke are married and back from their honeymoon with exciting life-changing news. JavaJunkie always and Literati eventually
1. She's Leaving in the Morning

Chapter One – Leaving in the Morning.

It was the morning after the wedding of Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore. Rory woke up in her old room and got dressed. She left her room to go to the kitchen. Luke was standing at the stove making pancakes and Lorelai was sitting at the table reading the Arts and Leisure section of the newspaper.

"Good Morning dear Mommy and dear Step-Daddy." Rory greeted in a slightly perky manner. Luke turned towards Rory and nodded while Lorelai stood up and hugged her grown up daughter.

"Oh the fruit of my loin has finally arisen! So toots, what's your plan for today?" Lorelai asked. Rory took out a large mug and poured a cup of strong coffee. She took a sip and replied that she had an interview that day at the 'Connecticut Daily News' in Boston at 10am. Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I've never heard of it. Your father has certainly never mentioned it, has he?" Lorelai asked and heard Luke quietly grunt at the mention of Christopher Haden.

"It's a small paper that has recently been taken over by a large publishing company. I thought this would be a good opportunity for the paper to get started." Rory explained and Lorelai smiled at her modesty.

"Don't be so modest. It's for _you _to 'get started'". Lorelai retorted and Rory laughed nervously.

"So what time are you guys heading off?" Rory asked, quickly changing the subject. Lorelai was about to respond when she heard a knock at the door. Lorelai went to open the door instead of answering Rory's question. However, she heard Luke tell Rory that they were leaving after breakfast. Lorelai opened the door and found Anna and April Nardini standing there. 'and Luke was grumpy about exes with children earlier. Here comes his.' Lorelai quietly thought.

"Hello. What are you both doing here?" Lorelai smiled and let them in. Anna assured Lorelai that Anna wanted to say goodbye to her and Luke before they went on their boating honeymoon. April ran into the kitchen and hugged her father. Lorelai gave Anna a quick tour of the house. Luke finally finished making pancakes and everyone sat down to breakfast in the kitchen.

Luke quickly ate his pancakes and left to go to the diner and make sure that Caesar had not burnt it down yet. Anna and April followed him to the diner. Lorelai and Rory were the only ones in the house and it suddenly was quiet and felt very empty. Rory suddenly smiled to herself.

"What's up?" Lorelai asked. Rory shrugged. "Tell me! Please?" Rory sighed and gave in.

"You finally married Luke. It took a long time but you did it." Rory told her and Lorelai smiled and nodded. Rory started to think about what her life would've been like, had she married Logan when he asked at her graduation from Yale. It had been 5 years since she graduated. She would've been living in San Francisco. Would she have been happy? She certainly loved Logan. Would they have had a child by now? That thought scared Rory and she stopped thinking of Logan. Lorelai and Rory talked until they had drank all the coffee and eaten all their pancakes.

"Well, that was a great morning Mom, but I have to get going to Boston. Have a great honeymoon." Rory hugged Lorelai and Lorelai kissed Rory's hair.

"Thank you. Good Luck at your interview. I'm sure you'll blow them away at that paper." Lorelai started to clean the dishes and Rory went to her room to pack and get ready to leave for her interview. Lorelai sighed and held up her hand to look at her ring.

Lorelai left for the diner to leave with Luke and Rory was alone at home. Lorelai arrived at the diner to see a large crowd of people. Everyone seemed to be there to wish them luck for the rest of their lives. Lorelai walked in the door and the bell chimed announcing her arrival. Luke walked up to Lorelai and gave he a quick kiss. Lorelai turned to see Babette and Miss Patty behind her. Everyone gushed at them finally getting married. Kirk and Lulu were very excited for them and were talking about getting married themselves. Taylor Doose was unintentionally irritating Luke about boat problems. Lorelai giggled occasionally at the expressions on Luke's face. Rory reappeared to quickly say another goodbye as she had a bit of time left. Eventually Luke and Lorelai left for their honeymoon. Rory left for her job interview in Boston.


	2. Interviews and Visiting Lane

**Disclaimer (which I forgot to add in Chapter One): I do not own Gilmore Girls. The beautiful witty Amy Sherman-Palladino does. **

**This chapter is a much longer chapter and more detailed which is why it has taken a couple of days. I have also had exams to study for but they are all over now. So I now have 2 months to focus on this story. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Please continue to read, review and advise for this very important decision.**

Chapter Two – Interviews and Visiting Lane

Rory Gilmore pulled into the carpark of the 'Connecticut Daily News'. The building was rather small and grey but the area seemed to be a potential construction site. Rory parked her car in the busy car park and entered the air conditioned building with her cup of coffee. Rory was immediately confused and lost. She followed the signs which led to a large room filled with people. She walked up to an important looking person sitting at a table.

"Hello, my name is Rory Gilmore. I believe I have an interview here at 10am." The old lady at the table looked up at her.

"You'll have to wait until your name is called and then go in for your interview. Please have a seat." Rory thanked the lady and sat down with the rest of the applicants waiting for interviews. She opened her folder and glanced at her resume.

"Rory Gilmore!" a man called and Rory immediately looked up. The man ushered her to follow him into the room. The room consisted of a few men sitting at a table and a couple of others standing around the room. Rory went up and shook the hands of the men at the table. Rory breathed and sat down.

"Well, Rory Gilmore, how are you today?" the man asked. Rory replied that she was fine. He introduced himself as Mr. Smith.

"That's excellent. By the looks of your resume, you've made quite a name for yourself. You've worked on the Chilton Franklin, became Chief Editor of the Yale Daily News, an intern at the Stamford Eagle Gazette. Why should I give you a job?" Mr Smith asked. Rory sighed and tried to remember her pre-arranged answer for this question.

"Well, I have had a lot of experience in journalism. As you've mentioned, I worked on the Franklin at Chilton, the Yale Daily News, the Stamford Eagle Gazette and I was also covering the Obama campaign trail for a long time. I am enthusiastic and a great team leader. I can also work well in a team. I am also an excellent writer and I don't mind travelling in all types of conditions." Rory finally breathed out and Mr Smith smiled at her. Rory and Mr Smith continued to talk about her accomplishments in order to create a better idea of who Rory Gilmore was. Rory then thanked Mr Smith, shook his hand and left the office into the room outside. There was a lot more people than when she had arrived. Rory attempted to not feel intimidated and walked straight out to the car park. She got into her light blue car and left the car park.

Rory was driving around Boston looking for a place to get a cup of coffee, when she noticed her father entering a café. Rory immediately pulled into a car park next to the café and went inside. The café was packed with people and Rory found it hard to track her father down. Eventually she found him at a table with a brunette woman. The woman was around Christopher's age. Rory approached Christopher with a smile.

"Hey Kiddo! What are you doing here?" Chris gave Rory a hug and Rory told him about the interview and that she thought she did badly.

"Would you introduce me to your friend here?" Rory asked and Christopher laughed. Chris introduced Rory to Celia Wentworth, the brunette lady friend that her father was with. Celia was a teacher who taught Gigi when she started school. Celia was similar to Sherry Tinsdale, the mother of Georgia or Gigi. Gigi was currently 9 years old. Rory decided to have a cup of coffee with Christopher and Celia. It turned out that Celia drank Chai Lattes as well as Christopher. Rory remembered what her father was like with Sherry when she was back at Chilton. It had been a long time. Georgia had been coming back and forth between France and America. Celia had a 10 -year -old son, David Wentworth. Everyone exchanged life stories over coffee. Eventually, Christopher and Celia realised that they had to get to an appointment. Rory decided to leave at the same time as it would get dark soon. Rory drove down the I85 back to Stars Hollow.

It was dark when Rory reached her house. Rory parked her car and walked up the stairs to get the key out of the turtle. Rory let herself in into the dark house. Rory went around to turn on the lights and called Joey for a pizza delivery. Rory had a nice night in eating pizza and watching The Shining.

The following morning, Rory woke up and went to Luke's for breakfast. She ordered a large cup of coffee and a stack of blueberry pancakes. Caesar was remaining in charge while Luke and Lorelai were on their honeymoon. Rory's mobile phone went off and she saw that it was her mother calling.

Rory: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey hon. I'm sorry I forgot to call yesterday. How did your interview go?

Rory: It was alright. I should find out soon whether I get the job or not. I'm staying at home until I find out.

Lorelai: Okay then. Make sure Paul Anka's alright and fed.

Rory: Will do. Soooooo how's the honeymoon with Luke?

Lorelai: It's very nice but you're too young to know what's really going on.

Rory: You always say that. When are you coming back?

Lorelai: Oh, you know, pretty soon.

Rory: When's pretty soon? Did something happen?

Lorelai: We're on our way back now. We should be there pretty soon and Luke is paranoid about the diner. Anyways, we should be home in a couple of days. Oh, I have to go now. See you this weekend.

Rory: Ok. See you this weekend!

Rory hung up the phone and continued her breakfast. Lane came over to Rory and chatted with her while on her break. Lane decided to take the rest of the day off after the Breakfast Rush. Lane and Rory walked through the town and back to Lane's apartment to look after Steve and Kwan.

"Oh Rory. I have really big news." Lane told her and announced that she was pregnant again.

"Wow. Congratulations Lane! I'm guessing you tried the 'bed' idea after all." Rory replied and Lane laughed at her joke.

"So Rory, how was your interview?" Lane asked and Rory sighed in response. "That bad huh?" Lane continued.

"No, I'd just like to stop talking about this one interview. I ran into Dad after my interview though. We had coffee with him and some woman called Celia Wentworth." Rory told her all about Celia.

"Celia's your new potential Step-Mom?" Lane asked.

"I suppose so. She has a son about Gigi's age. His name is David. David Wentworth. They should've named him Frederick from Persuasion." Rory joked and Lane's phone suddenly started ringing. Lane looked at the screen and saw it was her husband, Zach, calling. Lane immediately picked up the phone and told him that they were on their way.

"We'd better hurry." Lane told Rory and so they walked faster to Lane's apartment but also discussed the name 'Celia'.

Eventually they reached the apartment and two small Asian looking boys ran towards Lane and Rory. Steve and Kwan were about 3 or 4. They both received Lane's eyes and face but Zach's strong build. They were also adorable.

Lane started to fuss over Steve and Kwan when Rory noticed her phone was ringing again. Rory gestured to the phone and saw that it was the Connecticut Daily News. Zach was attempting to get Steve and Kwan quiet while Rory was on the phone.

Rory: Hello?

CDN: Hello. Is this Miss Rory Gilmore?

Rory: Yes this is.

CDN: Hello, I am Mr Smith from the Connecticut Daily News. We had an interview the other day in Boston.

Rory: yes?

CDN: I am calling to let you know that you have been successful in getting a job here with us.

Rory: Oh really! I promise to work very hard.

CDN: I'm sure you will. Our location for the office is in Hartford. I hope that isn't too much trouble for you, is it?

Rory: No, that's no trouble at all.

CDN: Great. I'm sure Mr Huntzberger will be pleased to see you again.

Rory: Mr Huntzberger?

CDN: Yes. The Huntzberger Publishing Company is the large publishing company that took over our paper. Well, congratulations and welcome to the Connecticut Daily News!

Rory: uh, thank you. Bye.

Rory hung up her phone in shock. Lane and Zach were waiting for her response.

"Bright side? I got the job." Rory explained and Lane and Zach were celebrating before she could finish. "Wait, Mitchum Huntzberger has taken over the newspaper." Rory told them and Rory started to panic. "I can't work with Mitchum again. He's horrible." Rory sat down on the couch with Lane comforting her and Zach went to the kitchen to fetch Rory a glass of water.

"Are you sure they said 'Mitchum'?" Lane asked and Rory shook her head.

"Well, he said 'Mr.' and I instantly assumed it was Mitchum. Maybe Josh took it over." Rory suggested even though she was thinking that Logan was meant to take over the business. Logan was supposed to be in San Francisco though.

"Who's Josh?" Zach asked and Rory explained that Josh was Honor's husband.

"Or it could be… But he's in San Francisco so he can't be…" Rory trailed off and Lane suggested for her to lie down in the spare room.

**Well, that's Chapter Two! It's certainly a lot longer. I'm sure you've figured out who will show up at the Newspaper office. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope no one hurts me if they hate that person or something. Rest assured that it's all part of the plan and favourites will be worked in… except for Dean. I don't like Dean and don't particularly want him in my story. I'm going to stop my rambling. **

**I hope you all enjoyed chapter two. Please read and review. **


	3. She's Back and Eating Fruit

Chapter Three – She's Back and Eating Fruit

**A/N: I hope you're all enjoying the story. This chapter sets up Lorelai's part of the story. I hope you enjoy it and please continue to read and review. **

Rory Gilmore was still at her friend Lane's house the next morning. She suddenly remembered having to feed Paul Anka at her house and quickly got up. She went into the living room to find Hep Alien, Lane and Zach's band, practising and was wondering how she had slept through it all.

"Morning everyone!" Rory greeted and headed straight for the kitchen for a cup of coffee. "Isn't it a bit early for band practise?" Rory asked as she drank her coffee. Lane agreed and joined Rory in the kitchen while Zach, Brian and Gill all sighed at Lane's procrastination. Lane decided that she needed to head out to Luke's to work soon.

"Listen, Rory, are you all right? About the whole Huntzberger at work thing?" Lane asked to check on her but Rory just shrugged.

"He's just not the nicest man." Rory said. "so when I went to lie down after the shock, I ended up sleeping all night?" Lane nodded.

"Zach and I figured you should sleep for as long as you needed to." Lane told her and Rory decided that she needed to get home but her phone started to ring. Lane decided to check her phone for her and told her that Lorelai was calling. Rory smiled and picked up the phone.

Rory: Hi Mom, I have interesting news.

Lorelai: How'd you know it was me?

Rory: I'm psychic.

Lorelai: What's the big news?

Rory: Well I got the job

Lorelai: that's fabulous! Was there more?

Rory: Yes there was more, you cut me off.

Lorelai: sorry. Shoot.

Rory: Remember that I told you that a large publishing company had recently taken over the Connecticut Daily News? Well that large publishing company is the Huntzberger Publishing Company. I don't know if I can stand to see or work for Mitchum Huntzberger.

Lorelai: Huh, did they say it was Mitchum specifically?

Rory: Well, no.

Lorelai: Rory, it's great that you got the job. I suppose this means you'll be living away from Mommy now. Just see how things go. When do you start?  
Rory: oh, next week I guess. I want to see you when you get back. When do you get back?

Lorelai: We're back now and we're at the house and you are not here to welcome us.

Rory: Mom! Why did you use your cell?

Lorelai: to trick you. Did it work? Luke has gone over to Luke's to make sure the place hasn't burned down.

Rory: Uh, great. I'll see you at home. Bye

Lorelai: what? Bye then. I'll be here.

Rory hung up the phone and told Lane that Mom and Luke were back and that she should head off to work. When Rory and Lane re entered the lounge, Zach, Brian and Gill had shipped off the band instruments back to Brian's place. Everyone had then gone to work. Lane and Rory both left and went their separate ways. Lane went to Luke's and Rory went home.

When Rory got home, Lorelai opened the door and ran down and gave her the biggest hug in the world. Lorelai was telling Rory all about the boat and various adventures that she and Luke went on. When they entered the house, Lorelai sat Rory down on the couch in a very serious manner. Rory started to worry.

"Honey, I've been eating fruit every day for a couple of weeks. This has not been a one-off. The last time I ate this much fruit was when I was sixteen… and pregnant with you." Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief as she said it.

"Maybe you finally realised that it's important to comply with the government's recommendations for fruit and vegetables. Maybe you've been married to Luke for too long and he has already turned you into a health freak like him." Rory denied the fact that Lorelai could be pregnant again even though, she thought a baby brother or sister may be fun. Lorelai was not convinced.

"Rory honey, I haven't told Luke yet so we need to go to the doctor pronto." Rory stood up and grabbed her jacket. "Whoa, where are we going?" Lorelai asked and Rory told her that they were going to the chemist to get a pregnancy test. "Not in Stars Hollow. We have to go to Hartford." Lorelai protested.

"You want to drive 30 miles to go to the drug store?" Rory asked. Lorelai nodded and explained that Stars Hollow was too small and someone would notice and word would get out that she may be pregnant. Rory agreed and they went for a drive to Hartford for a pregnancy test.

The drug store in Hartford was larger than the one in Stars Hollow. Lorelai decided that she did not want to ask for the location of the pregnancy tests. Lorelai and Rory wandered around the whole drug store when they suddenly ran into Max Medina. Lorelai was startled but Rory was excited to see her old English teacher again. Rory told him all about Yale University, the Obama Campaign and her recent success at the Connecticut Daily News. Max Medina decided that he would start reading that paper if Rory was going to publish articles. A woman with a stroller caught up to Max Medina and showed him a box of painkillers. They certainly seemed to know each other.

"Oh, hello. Max, will you introduce this… other person… to Rory and I?" Lorelai stuttered out. Max apologised quickly for his rudeness.

"Georgia, this Rory Gilmore and her mother Lorelai Gilmore. Rory Gilmore used to be a student of mine at Chilton many moons ago." Max then turned to Lorelai and Rory. "Lorelai, Rory, please meet my wife, Georgia Medina and our daughter here who is hiding in her stroller, Georgina Medina." Lorelai was stunned that he had gotten married and had a daughter with her. Rory was thrilled to meet Georgia and bent down to play with Georgiana. Georgia asked Lorelai about her work and she told her about the Dragonfly Inn at Stars Hollow.

"Listen, Lorelai, it was great to catch up with you both but we should be going." The Medinas said goodbye to the Gilmore Girls and left to pay for the painkillers. Lorelai sighed loudly, feeling relieved that the awkward moment with Mr and Mrs Medina.

"Can you believe he's married? I hope he's happy." Rory gushed as Lorelai quickly grabbed the pregnancy test from the shelf to put it into the counter.

Later at home, Lorelai was in the bathroom connected to her bedroom and Rory was pacing the bedroom in impatience, anticipation and anxiety.

"Hurry up Mom!" Rory cried through the door. The door opened and Lorelai peeked out with a white stick. "What's the verdict?" Rory asked.

"I don't know. It hasn't been revealed." Lorelai retorted. Lorelai and Rory then glanced down at the stick, which had just changed colour. Lorelai went pale and Rory was unsure at her feelings but knew that she had to support her mother and stepfather.

That evening, Sookie came home and brought food for dinner that evening. Sookie cooked roast pot with a salad and homemade ice cream for dessert. Lorelai was arranging the food on the table while Rory was tidying the rest of the house.

"So what's the occasion Lorelai?" Sookie asked as she was desperate to know why Lorelai suddenly asked for her food. Lorelai dragged Sookie over to the corner of the room as if there were a lot of people in the room. Lorelai whispered the news in Sookie's ear and Sookie started to jump up and down very excitedly.

"Oh is it Luke's?" Sookie asked and Lorelai nodded that it was. Lorelai asked Sookie to go and to keep the news quiet for a while. Sookie said goodbye to Lorelai and Rory before returning to her own home, husband and children.

Luke entered the house and Lorelai greeted him with a quick kiss before leading him to the beautifully set dinner table. Lorelai and Rory had dressed in their best dresses although Luke remained in his 'grunge flannel and backwards baseball cap' look. Lorelai gave Luke a glass of champagne and turned towards him.

"Luke, I'm pregnant." Lorelai finally announced. Luke smiled one of his larger smiles and hugged Lorelai. Luke then hugged Rory and they all sat down to a lovely dinner and discussed how to keep Lorelai away from caffeinated coffee.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter Three. We'll find out who Rory's new boss is in Chapter Four. As promised before, I will try to work favourites in except for Dean. It could be quite the scandalous story for the Gilmore Girls. **


	4. Friday Night Dinner and a Wedding Invite

Chapter Four – Friday Night Dinner and a Wedding Invite

**A/N: Hey everyone. I'm sorry that this chapter took so long. I've had to do a lot of thinking about Emily and Richard's reactions to Lorelai and Luke's big news and the new member of the family. But I've listed events, reactions, impressions, various issues, Emily's indecisiveness between Luke and Christopher and 'who is perfect for Lorelai' and her final realisation that it is truly Luke. It's hard to imagine being Richard and Emily in these circumstances. **

Lorelai's Jeep pulled into the driveway of the Gilmore Mansion. Lorelai, Luke and Rory got out of the car and approached the front door with a slight hesitation. "Lorelai, no matter what happens or if your parents react horribly, Rory and I are here to support you as well as the rest of Stars Hollow." Luke assured her and Rory simply nodded in agreement. Lorelai, for once, was silent on the subject matter and pressed the doorbell. A new maid opened the large door and collected their coats. Everyone stepped inside and were greeted by Emily Gilmore.

"Hello everyone. How was the drive up here? Was there much traffic?" Emily enquired and Luke replied that there was not very much traffic on the roads at all. Emily smiled at him and led everyone into the formal living room. "what drinks would you like?" Emily asked. Rory requested a martini and Luke asked for whiskey. Emily provided them their drinks when Richard Gilmore entered the living room.

"Now, Emily, I am expecting a call from Germany that I can not miss. Oh hello Lorelai, Luke, Rory. How is married life treating you Lorelai? Luke?" Richard greeted them.

"Oh, it's happening." Lorelai replied and Luke contributed that they were having a lovely time being married. "Actually, I have something to announce that has happened after our marriage." Lorelai started to announce her big news when she noticed Rory staring at her in a _you're-going-to-drop-this-bombshell-now -? s_ort of way. "Which I'll tell you at the dinner table." Lorelai continued to relieve Rory. Lorelai continued to feel anxious and refused to feel relieved until she had announced it.

"Why not now?" Emily questioned and sat down, almost in anticipation. Richard looked up at Lorelai and she felt that she had no choice. Lorelai took a deep breath, closed her eyes and announced "Mom, Dad, I'm pregnant." Lorelai breathed out and opened one eye to see Richard and Emily's expressions. Emily and Richard were quiet, solemn. Emily simply took a sip from her martini and glanced up at Lorelai. "Well? Say something! Anything. Or say nothing and express some emotion. I'm not sixteen anymore. I'm married and pregnant and the father is my husband, Luke." Lorelai ranted. Richard and Emily looked shocked to hear that Lorelai was pregnant again. "Finally a response." Lorelai retorted. Rory finally stood up to assist her mother against Richard and Emily.

"Grandma, Grandpa. I know this is shocking but it's a good shock and we should all celebrate with champagne, except for Mom." Luke agreed with Rory and Richard and Emily started to smile. Richard and Emily were excited at this news suddenly.

"I'll call our cousins in Bridgeport." Richard said and rushed off to his office to do so.

"I'm going to be a Grandmother again!" Emily claimed and ran to get a pen and paper to create a shopping list for Lorelai. Almost immediately a maid arrived to inform everyone that dinner was ready. Emily called Richard back from the study and everyone sat down to eat. The maid brought out the salads and placed one plate of salad in front of each guest. Emily insisted on Lorelai coming over regularly during her pregnancy or staying in the guest room but Lorelai reminded her mother that she still had to work at the Dragonfly Inn for quite a while and staying at the Gilmore mansion was simply out of the question.

"Well, where will you both be staying? You can't raise a child in that tiny apartment of the diner. That is no place to raise a child." Emily scolded and Luke assured her that they would be staying at Lorelai's house. "What about a room for the baby? Are you going to add on another room?" Emily asked and Lorelai was puzzled over this.

"I guess the baby can stay in Rory's room." Lorelai turned to Rory quickly. "Sorry honey but you're moving out soon." Rory nodded that she would start looking for an apartment in Hartford. This comment reminded Emily that she had neglected to discuss Rory's new job.

"Oh my. I'm so sorry Rory. Where is your new job?" Emily asked and Rory explained that she started on Monday at the Connecticut Daily News, which is located in Hartford. Richard offered to assist Rory in finding a very nice apartment that weekend. Richard and Rory discussed finding an apartment that weekend and requirements for an apartment while Emily, Luke and Lorelai discussed assisting Lorelai in her pregnancy and to insist on Lorelai not drinking any more coffee with caffeine. It was an eventful Friday Night Dinner, which finally ended around 10pm. Emily had insisted on Lorelai visiting on Monday while Richard and Rory agreed to see houses that Sunday.

Once Lorelai, Luke and Rory had reached home after Friday night dinner, Rory offered to check the mail. Luke and Lorelai, who were exhausted, headed inside the house. Rory flicked through the mail as she walked towards the house. She found a water bill, an electricity bill, a flyer for Miss Patty's Dance Recital with her students and an invitation addressed to her. Rory, intrigued by the invitation, opened it immediately with excitement. It was a white wedding invitation decorated with tiny bride and groom images. It was a wedding invitation to Paris and Doyle's wedding. Rory was unsure whether she was more shocked at Paris and Doyle getting married or that they were still together. Rory decided that she had to attend. The wedding was not for another two months. Rory ran inside and showed it to Lorelai. Lorelai was surprised and agreed to go with Rory to the wedding. Luke emerged from the kitchen with coffee for Lorelai and Rory and tea for himself. Lorelai sniffed her coffee and looked up at Luke.

"This is decaf." Lorelai announced "I don't think I can live for 9 months without caffeine. "

"How can you even tell?" Luke asked, "it's still coffee. Drink it." Lorelai took small sips of her coffee as she enviously watched Rory drink caffeinated coffee. Rory smiled, finished her coffee and skipped off to bed. Lorelai decided to also go to bed as it was getting late and they had a big weekend ahead of them.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter Four. The next chapter will probably be Rory's first day at the CDN. Please read and review. **


	5. The Lorelais' First Day at the CDN

Chapter Five – The Lorelais' First Day at the Connecticut Daily News

The bell chimed above the entrance door to Luke's diner announcing the arrival of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Luke, with his faded blue backwards baseball cap and flannel shirt, was working behind the counter and did not appear to notice them. Lorelai and Rory sat themselves down at a table. Lorelai felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Babette and Miss Patty.

"How was your honeymoon, sweetie?" Miss Patty asked slyly.

"Dirty!" Lorelai cooed and they all fell into laughter. "Actually, ladies and gentlemen, I have some big news-." Lorelai was cut off by Babette's guesses.

"Are you getting a divorce? You can't get a divorce! Luke's perfect for you." Babette was starting to ramble and Lorelai decided to stop her.

"Hold on Babette. We are not getting divorced. We're going to have a child." Lorelai announced. Miss Patty quickly drew Lorelai into a life-grabbing hug while Babette rushed over to Luke to congratulate him. Lane arrived at Lorelai and Rory's table to also congratulate Lorelai and Luke on their happy news. Luke came back holding two coffee pots and poured different coffee into different mugs for Lorelai and Rory.

"I hope that's not decaf you're pouring for me." Lorelai complained. "I need caffeine!"

"But little Nick or Nora doesn't. What would you like to eat?" Luke asked as he poised a pen above the notepad.

"Rory came out just fine!" Lorelai insisted but Luke simply ignored her attempts. Rory ordered pancakes for Lorelai and waffles for herself. Luke nodded and went back to the kitchen.

"So what's your plan today Missy?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, it's my first day at the Connecticut Daily News. If the newspaper really takes off and becomes as famous as the Stamford Eagle Gazette did, this could be my ticket to the New York Times. I will finally get to work at the New York Times and live in an apartment in New York, eating bagels and drinking coffee for breakfast." Rory took a sip of her coffee. "What about you?"

"Oh it's just another day at the Dragonfly. You know, checking people in and out, ordering people around, watching Sookie and Jackson arguing over capsicums, coping with Michel's ennui. Although there is a wedding happening at the end of the week

so I'll be busy planning that as well. On top of all that, my Mother will probably call and ask something about little Nick or Nora." Lorelai sighed at her amount of work, even though she enjoyed every minute of her job. Lane arrived with their food and left them to enjoy their breakfasts.

After breakfast, Lorelai and Rory had gone home and changed for their various jobs. Lorelai walked Rory to her car and gave Rory a big hug. "Is your new apartment in Hartford all furnished and ready for you?" Lorelai asked and Rory nodded in response.

"Promise you'll call and visit a lot!" Rory pleaded with her mother who assured her that she would call and visit regularly. Rory finally got in her car and drove to the Connecticut Daily News in Hartford. Luckily the newspaper office was near a familiar part of Hartford. Rory parked in the car park and entered the large, plain building. Rory immediately went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Rory took her cup of coffee and wandered around the office looking for her desk. Rory found her desk next to a large window overlooking Hartford. Rory looked out the window and one particular building caught her eye. Rory recognised the building as Chilton. Rory couldn't believe it was the same Chilton that she was Valedictorian of. Rory quietly giggled to herself and turned around to look at her desk. Rory picked up the memo on the desk. The memo read:

Staff Meeting at 9am in Conference Room.

Welcome to the CDN.

The writing on the memo seemed familiar to Rory but she couldn't place a name for whose writing it was. Rory looked at her watch and saw that it was almost 9:00. Rory looked up to see a group of people entering a room down the hall. Rory rushed to the conference room and sat down in the nearest available chair. Mr Smith, who had interviewed Rory, was standing at the front of the room. Once everyone was settled, Mr Smith welcomed the new staff.

"Today is the first day that the Connecticut Daily News will be involved with the famous Huntzberger Publishing Company. Please welcome, Mr Huntzberger." A man walked into the room and stood by Mr Smith. Mr Huntzberger explained how he was going to change the newspaper, which had started with great new journalists. Rory avoided looking at Mr Huntzberger who Rory believed to be Mitchum. Near the end of the meeting, Rory decided that she must look up at him. Instead of finding Mitchum Huntzberger standing next to Mr Smith, she found Logan Huntzberger. Rory was unsure as to how she felt about Logan being there.

Lorelai Gilmore entered the Dragonfly Inn once she had sent Rory off to Hartford. Lorelai was greeted by the usual surly French Concierge Michel Gerard. Lorelai headed straight for the kitchen where her best friend, Sookie St James, was making an omelette. Sookie's kitchen staff were working around the kitchen.

"Good morning." Lorelai greeted everyone and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning. Oh is it Rory's first day at that newspaper in Hartford?" Sookie asked and Lorelai nodded excitedly in response. "Oh, I remember at the Independence Inn when she got into that great school!" Sookie gushed and Lorelai reminded her to return to the omelette. Lorelai took her cup of coffee and went to the front desk to start her day. Sookie ran out of the kitchen to Lorelai and pulled her aside. "Honey, what is it?" Lorelai enquired. Sookie was almost panicked.

"I'm a terrible best friend. How did Luke take his 'new daddy' news?" Sookie asked.

"Well, I think better than his reaction to April. He was very happy. Personally I think you're wrong; you are the best friend a girl could have." Sookie was satisfied and returned to the kitchen. Lorelai turned around to go back to the front desk when she saw more guests arrive through the front doors. Lorelai went to check them in when she heard a crash in the kitchen. In a panic, Lorelai turned her head towards the kitchen door. Two cooks were carrying Sookie out and they informed Lorelai that they were taking Sookie to the doctor. "Sookie! You have to be more careful!" Lorelai called out.

Sookie called back that she was fine.

"Your faithful pooch is here to tell you that your mother is on the phone." Michel told her and Lorelai went to the front desk.

Lorelai: Hello Mom.

Emily: Hello Lorelai. I'm calling to tell you that I talked to Amelia Henderson.

Lorelai: Um, that's great?

Emily: You have no idea who Amelia Henderson is, do you?

Lorelai: Not a clue.

Emily: She's a midwife.

Lorelai: Oh Mom.

Emily: Hear me out. I thought she could help you. She'll be your midwife for the birth and will keep you healthy. I hope you're staying off coffee.

Lorelai (looking guiltily at her cup of coffee): yeah, Luke's trying to keep me on decaf. I don't know if I'll survive this pregnancy without caffeine.

Emily: Also, I'm going to drive you to the hospital this time. Even if I have to live with you for your last month.

Lorelai: Then at least stay at Babette's house. She lives next door.

Emily: You promise? This, Babette, lives next door and not on the other side of Stars Hollow? Well, great. I'll be going now. I'll see you Friday?

Lorelai: See you Friday.

Lorelai sighed and hung up the phone.

* * *

Once the meeting was over, Rory rushed out of the conference room and ran over to her desk. Rory saw on her desk that she had been assigned to write in a small column. Rory could hardly complain as she knew she would have to work hard to be able to write in larger beats. Rory stood in front of the large window and did not hear Logan approach. "Well, well, well, Rory Gilmore, as I live and breathe. How've you been Ace?" Rory shuddered to hear her old pet name. Rory turned around to look at Logan, leaning against the partition.

"What happened to San Francisco? Why are you here, Logan?" Rory asked as she sat down in her chair. Logan Huntzberger sighed and stood up straight.

"I've been very successful in San Francisco and I'm still working there technically. My father has fallen ill. He's asked me to help out with the Huntzberger Company as he still wants me to take over the family business. I'm still the Huntzberger Heir. I did not pick this paper and I thought you'd be at the New York Times by now." Logan explained, "I'm glad you're here though Ace."

"But why? You hate your father. I hate your father." Rory enquired.

"Yes, I do hate my father. This is family loyalty. Would you prefer me here or Mitchum Huntzberger?" Rory was starting to get irritated.

"I haven't decided that yet. How's the avocado tree?" Rory asked and Logan smiled at her.

"I'll make Guacamole for you sometime." Logan left Rory alone to do her work. Rory didn't know what she would write for her column. Logan came back and gave Rory a piece of paper. Rory looked at the paper and saw that it was the story she would be covering. Rory quickly called up Lorelai but the phone went to voicemail. Rory hung up and grabbed her jacket before she left to go to the address for the story.

Lorelai Gilmore sat at the front desk, trying to organise a seating chart for the upcoming wedding. Lorelai picked up the RSVP list and looked back at the seating chart. In frustration, Lorelai threw the seating chart towards Michel. Lorelai heard her phone ring and saw that Rory was calling her.

Lorelai: Hey, how's the first day going?

Rory: Interesting.

Lorelai: Intrigue. How?

Rory: Well, it started off great with me getting coffee and finding my desk. It's by a window that overlooks Chilton. Then there was a staff meeting to introduce the Huntzberger Publishing Company. Guess who's suddenly in charge now?

Lorelai: I'll bet it's that schnickelfritz Mitchum.

Rory: Nope. Logan. I can't talk for very long. I'm waiting in the car at my first job. I just thought I should fill you in.

Lorelai: You can't just drop a bombshell and leave out details. So, wow, Logan. Is he going to be there for very long?

Rory: I don't know. When I had that internship at the Stamford Eagle Gazette with Mitchum, he was only there for a couple of months. I guess I can co-exist for a couple of months. I'll come home for a Stars Hollow fix this weekend with details. I promise.

Lorelai: Alright. Major details. Don't leave anything out. Well, you have something to cover and I have a seating chart to organise for this wedding.

Rory: I'll see you later.

Lorelai: Bye.

Lorelai hung up her phone and decided that she would walk down to Luke's for fresh air and coffee. Lorelai was walking through town and noticed that everyone was setting up for the Founders Firelight Festival. Papier-mache stars were being placed on the gazebo and Taylor was instructing different orders to various people. Miss Patty was standing in the gazebo with a group of children. Lorelai overheard part of the story of Stars Hollow's discovery. Lorelai eventually reached Luke's and the bell chimed above the door, announcing her arrival. Luke was standing behind the counter, bended over a large, broken toaster. Lorelai sat down at the counter near Luke.

"Having trouble with that toaster?" Lorelai enquired and Luke silently nodded. "So, coffee to go please and this had better have caffeine in it." Luke left the toaster and poured her a cup of coffee. Lorelai took the cup of coffee and sniffed it. "This is decaf."

"Yes it is. You are going to drink decaf if you don't want our child to have two heads." Luke told her and went back to attempting to fix the large toaster.

"More to love!" Lorelai cooed as she took her cup of decaf coffee and headed back to the Dragonfly Inn.

Rory Gilmore pulled into a parking space outside the burning building. Rory took a notepad and pen and tried to find a fireman to talk to. It was a large apartment building and parts of it had fallen down. Rory noticed that most of the tenants were standing on the street watching their homes being destroyed. Rory approached one family and asked for their account of the fire.

"I don't know what happened. I heard the smoke alarm and here we all are." The woman told Rory. Rory sighed and tried to look for a fireman. It turned out that all the firemen were putting the fire out. Rory decided to wait in her car until the firemen were less busy. Rory felt her phone buzzing in her pocket and took it out. She saw that Logan Huntzberger was calling and Rory answered with a little hesitation.

Rory: Hello?

Logan: Hi Ace. There's a meeting this afternoon so I'll need you to get back from that building soon.

Rory: Listen, you can't call me 'Ace' anymore. It was fine at Yale but we're not at Yale and we are certainly not dating. Also, people are busy here and no one seems to know how the fire started so I'm waiting for a fireman to tell me when they are done putting out the fire. I will be back at the office when I'm done.

Logan: Rory! I am your boss

Rory: and not my assistant. An assistant should be telling me when I have a meeting. I have to go now. Bye.

Rory hung up the phone angrily and rushed back to the scene. The fire was getting smaller and a couple of firemen were leaving the building. Rory took her chance and ran towards them. "Excuse me! What's happening?" Rory asked. A fireman turned towards her and she saw that it was Marty. "Marty! You're a fireman." Rory gushed. Marty smiled shyly.

"Yeah, well it's pretty fun and it pays the bills. How about you? Are you a reporter?"

"Yes at the Connecticut Daily News right here in Hartford. I'm actually covering this story. So what happened?" Rory asked. Marty explained that an arsonist had caused the fire. Marty told Rory everything he knew so far about the fire, damages and injuries or deaths. Rory wrote this down as he spoke until she realised that she had to go.

"I'm sorry but I have to go down to a meeting. Thank you for the information." Rory started to leave but Marty stopped her.

"Can I call you or something? I haven't seen you in ages." Marty pleaded. Rory hesitated a little and quickly gave him her new number. Rory rushed back to her car and drove back to the Connecticut Daily News for the meeting. Marty smiled as he looked down at Rory's card. Marty then heard someone call his name for his help. Marty quickly looked back before he went to help his colleague with the fire.

Lorelai arranged the seating chart for the upcoming wedding once she had arrived back at the Dragonfly Inn. The day was quickly coming to a close. Michel grabbed his jacket and promptly left. "Goodbye!" Lorelai called after him but Michel ignored her. Lorelai went into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee but Sookie stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Sookie asked and Lorelai sighed loudly.

"To get coffee. I haven't had any caffeine all day and it's going to get very ugly around here if I don't get any coffee soon." Lorelai complained.

"Luke told me not to let you have caffeine." Sookie blurted out and Lorelai wasn't very surprised.

"Luke told you? How about one-half caffeinated and one-half decaf?" Lorelai suggested, "I'll know if you do it any differently too." Sookie quietly handed Lorelai a cup of coffee. "So the wedding is soon. Have you got any ideas about the cake?" Lorelai enquired and Sookie told her that she was thinking of a chocolate cake with pearls, lace and flowers. Lorelai returned to the front desk until dinner was over. Once dinner was over, Sookie, Lorelai and the cooks all left to go home. Lorelai drove home and saw that Luke's truck was also there. Lorelai parked behind the green truck and got out of the car. Lorelai walked up to the front porch and let herself into her house. Paul Anka ran to greet Lorelai as she entered the house and lay down to play dead. Lorelai patted him before checking the answering machine. There weren't any messages so Lorelai sat down on her old couch.

Once the meeting was over at the Connecticut Daily News, Logan tried to apologise to Rory. Rory accepted his apology and left the office to go to her new apartment that she and Richard had found the day before. Before leaving, Rory gathered her notes from her desk and her laptop. Rory entered her new, dark apartment. She switched on the light and noticed the usual quietness of the place.

Most of the furniture was the furniture that Emily Gilmore had purchased for the common room when Rory was a freshman at Yale. Rory sat down on a couch and her phone started to ring. Rory picked it up and saw that it was her mother calling.

Lorelai: Hey, how was the rest of the first day?

Rory: Better. I ran into Marty who is a fireman.

Lorelai: Interesting. What are you up to?

Rory: Sitting here in the dark all alone. How about you?

Lorelai: Sitting here in the light almost all alone..

Rory and Lorelai continued to chat for hours.

**A/N: Chapter 5 is finally done! I'm sorry this took so long. First someone else was using my computer for homework so I started writing it down and then using my Mum's computer. I would've liked to get this out by Christmas but I was rather busy around then as I'm sure most people are. Anyways, here it is! I hope you liked it and I hope those people who don't like Logan won't hate me or track me down and kill me. I added Marty though as compensation. **

**I personally think that Logan is the best option. I don't like Dean and I think it is weird if Rory and Jess dated while Lorelai and Luke were together. Therefore that leaves Logan. **

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone! **


	6. New Friends Arrive and Old Loves Leave

Chapter Six – A New Friend Arrives and an Old Love Leaves.

Rory awoke one morning to the sound of a persistent knocking at the door. Rory glanced at her alarm clock and saw that it was 6am. Rory sleepily dragged herself out of her bed and to the front door. Rory opened the door and saw Paris Gellar standing before her surrounded by bags.

"Paris? What are you doing here so early?" Rory asked.

"Doyle and I had a fight and he won't move to the couch. Can I stay here?" Paris pleaded and Rory stepped aside to let her in. "Thanks. I promise I won't be an annoyance or hassle to your regular routine." Paris sat down on the couch while Rory made coffee. Rory poured herself and Paris a cup of coffee each.

"What did you and Doyle fight about?" Rory asked as she sat down on the couch next to Paris. Paris took the cup of coffee and placed it on the coffee table.

"Well, he's wrong!" Paris announced and Rory sighed at Paris' vague argument in slight irritation. "We keep arguing over how the wedding should be." Paris sipped her coffee.

"Are you both planning the wedding? How about getting a professional to plan it?" Rory asked and Paris immediately informed her that hiring a professional wedding planner was too expensive.

"I thought it was organised already. I mean it's in a couple of months and invitations have already been sent out." Rory explained and Paris agreed in a sad manner. Rory put her arm around Paris to comfort her. "You know, my Mom has planned a lot of weddings at the Independence Inn and the Dragonfly Inn. In fact, she's in the middle of planning one now. I bet we could help you." Rory offered and Paris seemed happier.

"Thank you." Paris said and Rory nodded before she went to call her Mom and tell her about the wedding planning for Paris and Doyle. Paris finished her coffee and told Rory that she had to get to work.

"Why so early? Where are you working?" Rory asked and Paris replied that she was a physician at the local hospital. Paris picked up her bag and saw herself out. Rory picked up the phone and dialled her house number. It rang several times before Luke eventually picked up the phone.

Luke: Hello?

Rory: Hey Luke, it's Rory. Is my Mom there?

Luke: Uh yeah but she's a bit busy trying to keep food down which isn't working well.

Rory: Oh no! Should I come over?

Luke: I think she should be okay. Was there a reason you called?

Rory: Yes, I was wondering if she could help with planning Paris and Doyle's wedding. There has been a bit of disagreement so I offered her services.

Luke: Well, I'll check with her and see if she's up to it. You've helped with a lot of those weddings too, haven't you?

Rory: Yes, I suppose so..

Luke: Before I forget, how's the job and apartment going?

Rory: It's going well. The first day is always hard. It shouldn't be too bad. How's dealing with the diner and Mom's sickness?

Luke: hard work. Oh, I have to go take care of her.

Rory: I have to get ready for work anyways. Say hi to her for me. Bye

Luke: Will do. Bye Rory. Good luck with everything.

Rory hung up the phone, feeling worried about her Mom. Rory finished her cup of coffee and decided to head down to the Connecticut Daily News for another day of battling working for Logan Huntzberger.

Lorelai finished throwing up and realised that Luke was back and holding her hair. "I'm so sorry about this." Lorelai sighed and sat on the lip of the bathtub.

"It's alright. I'll ask Jackson for tips." Luke smiled at her and Lorelai smiled back before asking about the phone call. "Rory called and wants your help with planning Paris and Doyle's wedding." Lorelai sighed again and tried to stand up.

"I don't know if I feel well enough to be up to the job. I think I've finished planning for the wedding this weekend. I'll get back to Rory." Lorelai decided to head down to the kitchen and Luke followed her.

"I have to get back to the diner. Do you think you'll be alright?" Luke asked and Lorelai could only simply nod at Luke. Luke quickly kissed Lorelai before heading off to the diner. Lorelai lay her head down on the table, as she was feeling nauseous. "What was I thinking?!" Lorelai asked herself out loud. Suddenly the phone started to ring loudly and Lorelai picked it up in frustration.

Lorelai: Hello?

Emily: Hi Lorelai. How are you feeling today?

Lorelai: It just keeps getting better.

Emily: Really? It can't be that bad as this isn't your first child.

Lorelai: Uh huh. I feel like death.

Emily: Would you like me to come over?

Lorelai: No, I'll be fine. I have a wedding to plan. I might walk to the Inn.

Emily: I don't think you should be working in this condition. I'm coming to pick you up. Would you like me to call Sookie for you and tell you're not coming in?

Lorelai: It's really not necessary for you to come over.

Emily: I'm coming over.

Lorelai: No, Mom!

Emily: I'm your mother and I have to take care of you. I assume that Luke's at work?

Lorelai: Yes he is. Really I'm fine.

Emily: Then I'll come with you to your work.

Lorelai: No!

Emily: I'm coming to your house. I'll be there in 30 minutes. See you soon.

Lorelai: No, Mom!

Lorelai realised that her mother had hung up on her. Lorelai screamed in anguish. Lorelai picked up the phone again and called Sookie at the Inn and told her that she was too sick to come in and Michel should take care of the wedding. Lorelai walked up to her bed and lay down to sleep. Lorelai found that she was too nauseous to sleep and lay there until her mother arrived.

Rory arrived at the office and noticed that it was almost empty. Rory headed straight for her office and started to work on her article covering the fire where she saw Marty again. Logan approached Rory from behind to ask about her article. Rory continued to work as she was oblivious to Logan standing silently behind her and watching her work. Logan finally gathered the courage to talk to her. "Rory, could you please come to my office now?" Logan asked and Rory turned to look at him. Rory sighed before standing up to follow him. Logan gestured for her to go first and Rory walked slowly towards his office. Rory entered and sat down in a chair facing Logan's desk. Logan also entered the room and closed the door.

"What's the problem, boss?" Rory asked coldly. Logan sighed and sat down in his chair.

"I would love for this ice to thaw. For this wall between us to break down." Logan told her and Rory explained that there was no ice or wall between them. Logan shook his head in disagreement. "The big problem is that you're working here" Rory cried and ran towards the door but Logan stopped her. "I have gotten over you. I would've loved to marry you but it wasn't the right time. We had just finished College and now I just have to move on. I'm over you, Logan Huntzberger and I'm sorry." Logan finally let Rory go and sat down in his chair. Rory ran out of the office not noticing that a lot of people arrived at the office. Rory continued to run down the hall and bumped into a girl with a cup of coffee. The coffee splashed all over the girl and Rory apologised profusely.

"I'm sorry. I'm Rory Gilmore, what's your name?" Rory asked and the girl replied that she was Angela Featherstone. Rory gathered napkins for Angela and continued down to her office cubicle. Rory sat in her chair and started to cry when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Rory looked back to see that Angela was comforting. "I'll pay for your dry-cleaning." Rory told her in between sobs but Angela simply laughed.

"It'll be fine. It was very nice to meet you Rory Gilmore. I hope we can be friends." Angela told Rory and noticed that Rory's phone was ringing. Angela left Rory once she picked up the phone.

Rory: Hello?

Marty: Hey, it's Marty.

Rory: Oh, hi Marty. How's it going?

Marty: It's good. I'm calling to give you information, statistics and quotes to help with your story.

Rory: Oh thanks. Go ahead…

Lorelai Gilmore was still lying on her bed when Emily Gilmore arrived in her room holding a tray of crackers for Lorelai to eat. Emily placed the tray next to Lorelai and sat down on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"Sick. How are you?" Lorelai asked back and Emily replied that she was worried about Lorelai.

"You know, when I was pregnant with you that I was so ill and I thought I would die. I felt very lucky to have Amelia by my side. Richard was of course travelling all over the world during this time. I missed him so much." Emily sighed and looked down to Lorelai. "I should get you some water." Emily started to get up when Lorelai tried to speak.

"Please stay and continue." Lorelai grabbed a cracker and tried to keep it down. Emily insisted on getting Lorelai a glass of water before she continued her story. Emily returned to the main bedroom with a glass of water for Lorelai. Lorelai sipped at the water and Emily continued with her story.

"Amelia really is the very best midwife in my opinion and she is doing our family a great favour. Amelia taught me everything about being a parent and being a role model for my child. I thought I did everything right and we still lost you." Emily started to cry quietly. Lorelai whispered that they never lost her. Emily still continued about her own pregnancy. "Richard was so happy that we had a daughter so we could name you after his mother. What a terrible woman but a lovely and strong name. Not to mention those horrible gifts like the dog statues." Lorelai laughed quietly at her mother and Emily eventually joined in the laughter. Emily cleared some clothes and lay down next to Lorelai. "I can't explain the wonderful sensation of seeing you as a baby for the first time. I was quite excited to be a mother instead of just a wife. Lorelai, have I explained enough how delighted I am to get another grandchild. Please remember that I am driving you to the hospital this time." Emily turned to Lorelai and saw that she was fast asleep. Emily placed a blanket on top of Lorelai and quietly left the room.

At the end of the day, Rory turned in her finished article about the fire. Rory decided to head home when Angela asked to have dinner with Rory and get to know her. Rory finally remembered about Paris and invited her also out to dinner. Rory showed Angela her apartment while they waited for Paris. Paris finally arrived and slightly scared Angela. Rory heard the phone ring and picked it up.

Rory: Hello?

Doyle: Hi Rory, this is Doyle. Is Paris there?

Rory: Paris is here but we're about to go out for dinner. My Mom and I are helping plan your wedding so she'll go back to your place tomorrow. Is that okay?

Doyle: I suppose so. Have a good evening.

Rory: You too, Doyle. Bye.

Rory hung up the phone and took her jacket as they all left for dinner. Paris, Angela and Rory went to an Italian restaurant in the city. They sat at a table where a waiter instantly brought a bottle of water and three glasses.

"Isn't this place a little expensive for us?" Paris asked innocently but Angela insisted that this be her treat. Rory looked around the restaurant in search of anyone she recognised but no one caught her eye. Rory, Paris and Angela ordered their food and were comparing Yale to Princeton and Harvard when a familiar voice called Rory's name behind them. Rory turned around immediately and noticed that her grandparents had arrived at the Italian Restaurant. Rory quickly excused herself from the table and went to greet Emily and Richard.

"Hi Grandma. Hi there Grandpa. What are you doing here?" Rory asked.

"Sophia, our maid, burnt dinner and we decided to eat here for dinner. What are you doing here?" Emily informed Rory. Rory told them that she was there with Paris and Angela for dinner. Rory then invited her grandparents to sit with her friends and they gladly accepted. Rory introduced her grandparents to her friends and they all sat for an interesting dinner.

Rory awoke the next morning to see Paris packing away her things. Paris looked over at Rory to see if she was awake.

"I'm glad to see you finally awake. Have you heard back from your Mom about helping with the wedding?" Paris asked and Rory sleepily shook her head. Rory reached for the phone and fell off her bed as she grabbed it. Rory moaned loudly and dialled her mother's number.

Lorelai: Hello?

Rory: Hi Mom, it's me.

Lorelai: Why are you calling so early?

Rory: Did Luke ask you about helping with Paris and Doyle's wedding?

Lorelai: You didn't answer my question.

Rory: Neither did you! I'm calling this early because I'm awake and Paris wants to know. It's your turn.

Lorelai: I don't know if I can help. I've been feeling really sick. You've helped with lots of weddings at the Independence Inn and the Dragonfly Inn. Can't you do it?

Rory: I've never planned a whole wedding myself!

Lorelai: You gave tips to Dean and Lindsay.

Rory: Not quite the same thing. So you're not helping?

Lorelai: Uhh maybe. When's the wedding again?

Rory: In a couple of months.

Lorelai: I'll give you tips but I think it's your job.

Rory: What about Michel?

Lorelai: What about him?

Rory: Never mind. Is it okay if I borrow Sookie for the food?

Lorelai: Sure. I'm sure you'll do a great job. Remember the dark days of planning that 1940's DAR function. You'll be just fine.

Rory: I hope so. I'll let you get back to sleep.

Lorelai: Thanks. Have a good day.

Rory: You too.

Rory hung up the phone and headed over to the kitchen where Paris awaited eagerly. "I'm planning your wedding." Rory announced as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"That's great! My best friend is planning my wedding. This is going to work out. I can just feel it. Well I had better head back home. Thanks for letting me crash here." Paris picked up her bag and headed to the door. Rory put down her cup of coffee on the kitchen bench before following Paris to the door.

"You can stay here any time." Rory hugged Paris and watched her leave. Rory went back to her apartment to get ready before she left for work.

Logan Huntzberger woke up in his large and expensively furnished apartment next to a sleeping beautiful woman. Logan looked over at her and tried to remember who she was. "Rory." Logan whispered and the woman woke up. Logan realised that this wasn't Rory and jumped out of bed.

"What are you doing?" The woman asked but Logan ignored her and continued to get dressed.

"I have to go." Logan said as he grabbed his keys and left his apartment. Logan raced down the stairs and out of the apartment building. Logan jumped into his car and told Frank to go to the airport and arrange a flight for Logan to go to San Francisco. A few hours later, Logan was on a plane to San Francisco to see his good friend and cousin. Logan also realised that he should've called his cousin before jumping on a plane but it was too late for that.

Rory arrived at the Connecticut Daily News in her car and prepared herself for another confrontation with Logan. Rory walked through the front doors into the foyer and was greeted by Angela who was holding two cups of coffee. Angela smiled at Rory and gave her a cup of coffee.

"It was great last night. Thanks for dinner." Angela told Rory who simply smiled in response. Angela and Rory went into the elevator and up to their offices. "Are you okay?" Angela asked and Rory shook her head. "What's wrong?" Angela enquired and Rory broke down into tears. Angela hit the stop button as to not embarrass Rory.

"I can't do it anymore. I can't face him again." Rory cried as Angela comforted her.

"Who? Logan? Don't worry about him; I'll be here for you. I'll even move my office to next to yours instead of on the other side of the room." Angela comforted Rory who giggled at her suggestion. Rory wiped her tears away and assured Angela that she was fine. Angela kept her arm around Rory and let the elevator continue up to the 4th floor. The elevator doors opened and everything seemed normal. People were still working furiously on their assignments and Angela noticed a new notice on the large noticeboard. It was a note saying that Logan had unexpectedly taken the day off and would be back around Close of Business. Rory turned around and headed straight to her desk. Angela followed her to convince Rory's neighbour to switch desks which he agreed to gladly. Rory sat down at her desk and started to work, knowing that this day should be better than usual.

Logan arrived in San Francisco and worked his way through the airport. Logan noticed that another driver was waiting for Logan and Logan followed him to a limousine. Logan told the driver an address and the driver set off. Logan looked through the windows at the scenery of San Francisco until he eventually arrived at his cousin's apartment. Logan stepped out of the car silently and called his cousin to let him in. A loud beep sounded and Logan opened the door and headed straight up to the top floor. Once the elevator doors opened, Logan stepped out and searched for his cousin's apartment. Logan knocked on the door and a young man of similar age to Logan opened the door. This man had brown hair and was a similar height to Logan.

"Logan, what on earth are you doing here?" the man asked as he let Logan into his apartment.

"I'm sorry Cooper. I didn't know who else to turn to." Logan pleaded. "I need your help."

"Of course, I'll do anything." Cooper assured Logan and Logan asked Cooper to take over the Connecticut Daily News.

**A/N: And that's the longest chapter I've ever written. I've had two people ask for it not to be Logan but that was after I'd already written Chapter Five and I thought I'd end this with bringing in a new character and getting rid of an old character. I hope you enjoyed it and will continue to read this. I would've published this chapter earlier but it's very hard to get Internet while on holidays. I also hope no one kills me or hates me. **


	7. A Weekend In Stars Hollow

**A/N: So this is more of a filler-chapter with a bit of Warm and Fuzzy Stars Hollow Goodness. At least I tried to capture the Stars Hollow goodness of the Founders Firelight Festival. Next chapter will start up on the Monday afterwards. **

Chapter Seven – A Weekend in Stars Hollow

Rory looked at the clock that sat on her desk and saw that it was 4:30. Angela peeked over from her new office to check on Rory. Rory smiled in a sense that she was perfectly fine. Rory had been satisfied with the amount of work she had gotten through. Rory sent her story to the printer and left her desk to follow it. Rory heard someone call a staff meeting and went back to desk to fetch Angela. Rory noticed from afar that Logan was back and he was not alone. Angela and Rory followed everyone into the conference room and sat around the long desk. Logan stood up at the front of the room next to another young man who was similar to Logan.

"Good afternoon everyone. I'm sure you're all wondering why I took the day off. Well, I had to go fetch someone very important. I am resigning from this newspaper and in my place, I am putting my cousin and good friend here in my place. Everyone I'd like you to meet Cooper Huntzberger, your new boss." Logan announced to everyone. No one knew how to react to this shocking news. Rory and Angela glanced at each other, also not knowing how to react. Rory felt relieved and guilty that Logan was leaving. Without thinking, Rory stood up and went to face Logan and Cooper.

"Logan, you've been a good boss." Rory shook hands with Logan and turned to Cooper. "Cooper, welcome to the Connecticut Daily News." Rory shook hands with Cooper as well and everyone started to do the same. Rory left quietly and went to her office. Rory started to pack up her things to get ready to go home. Rory decided to make one last pit stop to see Logan in his office. Rory stood at the door and saw that Logan was also packing up. "I'm sorry." Rory told Logan who eventually looked up at her. Rory turned on her heel and headed to the elevator with Angela at her side. Rory headed straight back to her apartment and rushed inside as she heard the phone ringing. Rory grabbed the phone and sat on the couch.

Rory: Hello?

Lane: Rory? Hi.

Rory: Hi Lane. Is anything wrong?

Lane: No, nothing's wrong. I was wondering if you would be able to babysit Steve and Kwan this weekend.

Rory: Sure, that sounds great. I'll have a classic Stars Hollow weekend.

Lane: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!

Rory: Any time. How was your day?

Lane: An average day of working at Luke's and looking after kids this evening. How about you?

Rory: It was a long day. I have a new boss at the paper now.

Lane: So Logan's gone?

Rory: I guess so. My new boss is his cousin. His name is Cooper.

Lane: Is he cute?

Rory: I didn't see him properly.

Lane: Oh sure. Anything else?

Rory: Now I have to plan Paris and Doyle's wedding.

Lane: Wow. Oh, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow evening.

Rory: See you then.

Rory hung up the phone and looked at the time on her clock. She realised that it was almost six o'clock and decided to have a shower to get ready for Friday Night Dinner with her mom. Once Rory was ready, she quickly called her grandparents and told them to set an extra place at the table. Her grandmother was very excited to hear of Rory's arrival. Rory left her apartment and went down to her car to drive to her grandparents' house. Rory slowed down at the Connecticut Daily News to see Logan and Cooper leaving the office. Rory heard a car honk behind her and turned to see her mother and Luke were in the Jeep behind her. Rory turned back towards the road and continued driving to her grandparents' house. Rory pulled into the driveway and Luke and Lorelai followed closely. Rory and Lorelai both got out of their respective cars and hugged each other. Luke also gave Rory a quick hug and they all headed inside for Friday Night Dinner.

Luke pressed the doorbell which chimed its usual 'ding dong' announcing their arrival. Shortly a young maid opened the door and invited them inside, collecting their coats.

"How have you been?" Rory asked and Lorelai replied that she was nauseous most of the time.

"How have you been working with Logan?" Lorelai asked and Rory told her that Logan left that day and replaced himself with his cousin. Luke, Lorelai and Rory all left the foyer to sit with Emily and Richard. Emily was delighted to see Rory as well as Lorelai and Luke. Emily organised the usual drinks for everybody until Richard finally emerged from his office and joined everyone.

"Now Emily, I'm expecting a call from Germany that I can't miss. Oh, Rory! This is a surprise." Richard went to hug Rory as well.

"A pleasant one, I hope." Rory replied. " How's the Insurance Business?"

"It's going very well. How about that Hartford Paper?" Richard asked and Rory assured him that that was also going well. Emily handed her husband a scotch as he sat down. Richard then turned to Lorelai to enquire about the Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai started to tell everyone of the wedding that was happening the next day when the maid arrived to tell everyone that dinner was ready.

"How have you been feeling, Lorelai?" Emily asked as they made their way to the dinner table.

"Very ill. I am not sure if I'll be okay to run the wedding tomorrow." Lorelai told her mother before turning to Rory. "By the way, I'm sorry about bailing on planning Paris and Doyle's wedding." Rory assured Lorelai that it was fine however Emily disagreed.

"Your friend Paris is getting married? You're planning the wedding?" Emily asked and Rory confirmed it all.

"Is that a problem, Mom?" Lorelai asked Emily who quickly assured everyone that the situation was fine.

"If you need any help, just ask me." Emily told Rory and Lorelai quickly chimed in that she would help as well. The maid brought out the salad at this point when Emily asked Luke how the diner was doing.

Luke, Lorelai and Rory all left the Gilmore Mansion and all leaned against the walls. "I ate so much." Rory cried.

"I feel so nauseous. Do you think Mom would be mad if I threw up in the garden?" Lorelai asked Luke who simply nodded. Luke and Lorelai started to leave when Rory caught Lorelai's attention long enough to tell her that she was spending the weekend in Stars Hollow and staying with her and Luke.

Rory pulled into the driveway of her old home early on Saturday morning. Rory pulled out her bag out of the boot and started to head inside. Rory opened the door and called out for her Mom. Lorelai ran down the stairs to greet her daughter and grabbed her hand to take her to the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee. Luke suddenly arrived at the kitchen entrance and was shocked to learn that Lorelai was drinking caffeinated coffee.

"Unbelievable! Hi Rory. Go one day without coffee! Please!" Luke cried but Lorelai kept sipping her coffee. Rory greeted Luke in an effort to distract Luke but it didn't work. Lorelai finished her coffee and put the mug in the sink before rushing back upstairs to change into her dress for the wedding. Rory went into her old room to also change into a dress for the wedding at the Dragonfly Inn. Rory and Lorelai eventually emerged and looked beautiful. Once Lorelai and Rory headed off to go to the Dragonfly, Luke went his way to his diner.

Lorelai's Jeep pulled into the Staff Parking and Lorelai and Rory got out of the car. Lorelai looked around to see if everything was ready as Rory got a pen and pad of paper out of her bag.

"What's that for?" Lorelai asked her daughter whom replied that she was taking notes for planning Paris and Doyle's wedding. Lorelai laughed as she led Rory inside the Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai left Rory at reception and headed straight to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen were five working staff, a beautiful cake and Sookie and Jackson arguing over squash.

Lorelai went to get herself a cup of coffee while watching Sookie and Jackson fight. Michel then entered the kitchen and also noticed that Sookie and Jackson were arguing over squash.

"Oh, you didn't tell me that it started." Michel complained.

"I just walked in. Do you need me for something?" Lorelai asked Michel who then sighed.

"Your offspring won't leave me alone and keeps asking about wedding planning. Make her stop." Michel pleaded in his strong French accent.

"Wow that's an amazing cake." Rory gushed as she entered the kitchen. Michel turned around to see her and immediately ran out of the kitchen back to the reception. "Michel!" Rory cried after him and also ran out of the kitchen. Lorelai laughed until a man came in announcing that guests were arriving for the wedding. Jackson quickly kissed Sookie before leaving. Lorelai put down her cup of coffee.

"It's show time!" Lorelai announced as she left the kitchen. Lorelai directed people outside to the garden for the ceremony. Michel arrived at Lorelai's side to tell her that the Bridal Party had arrived and the wedding was about to commence. Rory quickly followed Michel and Lorelai led Rory to sit down in a chair.

That evening, Rory arrived at Zach and Lane's house to babysit their sons Steve and Kwan. Rory entered the house to see Zach sitting and waiting impatiently for Lane. "Hi Zach!" Rory greeted Zach and sat down next to him.

"Hi Rory. Can you please go and help Lane? She doesn't know what to wear." Zach indicated where the bedroom was and Rory headed in that direction. Lane and Zach's room was a mess with Lane's clothes strewn everywhere over the bed and on the floor.

"Hi Lane. What's the matter?" Rory asked and Lane laughed.

"The matter? I don't know what to wear!" Lane complained and sat on her bed holding her head in her hands.

"Well, where are you going? Zach looks very casual out there. How about this?" Rory held up a dress for Lane who took it quickly and went to change in the bathroom. Lane came back out into her room once she was dressed and Rory announced that she was beautiful. "I think I'll take Steve and Kwan to the Founders Firelight Festival and keep them away from the punch." Rory announced as Steve and Kwan both ran into the main bedroom. Rory gave each of them a hug and then Lane and Zach left to go out.

Rory organised a microwave meal for her best friend's twin sons and they put on a movie to watch. "Aunt Rory!!!!" Kwan screamed and Rory turned around and bent down to his eye level. "I don't like vegetables." Kwan complained. Rory simply sighed.

"If you don't eat your vegetables, you won't be able to go to the Founders Firelight Festival tonight." Rory told him and he quietly sat down to eat his dinner with Steve. Kwan and Steve had decided to watch Finding Nemo while they ate their dinner and Rory remembered her childhood as they watched the Disney movie.

Halfway through their dinner and movie, the doorbell rang. Rory immediately jumped up to answer the door while Steve and Kwan remained oblivious to anything other than the movie. Rory opened the door to find Christopher and Celia standing there, smiling at her.

"Hi Dad, Hi Celia. What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" Rory asked.

"Hey Kiddo. We went over to see your mom first and she told us that you were here babysitting. Cute kids." Christopher replied as Rory politely let them into Lane's house.

"Steve! Kwan! Come say 'hello'." Rory called them over and they jumped off the couch before running to greet Christopher and Celia.

"Have you seen what's going on out there in the square?" Chris asked and Rory nodded and told them about the Founders Firelight Festival. Rory decided at that point to stop the movie and take Steve and Kwan out to the Firelight Festival. Rory, Steve, Kwan, Chris and Celia all walked over to the town square for the Festival when Christopher announced that he and Celia had big news. Celia seemed very excited although she hadn't said a word all this time. Christopher faced Rory and breathed out.

"Rory, Celia and I have been very serious for quite some time and we've decided to get married." Christopher announced as he grabbed some of the Founders Day Punch to celebrate once they had reached the Square. Rory drank small sips, remembering her last Founders Day Punch experience and crying over Logan.

"Congratulations to you both!" Rory drank some more Punch and made sure that Steve and Kwan stayed far away from it. They started to pull on Rory's jacket and tried to drag her over to the bonfire once Taylor and Harry had found matches. Chris and Celia followed closely to the bonfire. Rory could see on the other side of the bonfire, Luke and Lorelai standing side by side watching the bonfire. Rory gestured for them to come over and they all stood watching the bonfire, drinking Founders Day Punch under the 'blanket of friendly stars.'

**A/N: Just a note that I paraphrased those last few words and I don't know who to give credit to but Amy Sherman-Palladino. No plagiarism here, folks! **


	8. A Party With The Boss & The Missing Chef

Chapter Eight – A Party With The Boss and The Missing Chef

**A/N: Sorry about getting this out so late but to make up for it, it's rather long. Question to Fanfic experts: In fanfic terms, what is 'fluff?' I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

Rory Gilmore entered the Connecticut Daily Times building the Monday morning after her weekend in Stars Hollow. She headed straight for the kitchen for her third cup of coffee that morning. Focussing on the coffee machine, she bumped into a tall person. Rory looked up to see her new boss, Cooper, and coffee staining his expensive suit.

"I'm so sorry!" Rory cried as she spun around to get a napkin and sent all the napkins flying to the floor. Rory looked back up at her boss to see him laughing at her and helped to pick up the napkins.

"I'm Cooper Huntzberger." Cooper reached a hand towards Rory.

"I'm Rory Gilmore and I'm not usually this much of a klutz." Rory blushed as she looked at Cooper and the mess she created in the kitchen.

"Are you _the _Rory Gilmore? Logan always spoke highly of you." Rory blushed further at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. "Quite the heartbreaker." Cooper waved to Rory as he turned on his heel and headed out of the kitchen.

"Logan or me?" Rory wondered out loud as she stood alone in the kitchen.

Lorelai Gilmore groaned as she turned over in her bed. She glanced up at the clock and saw that it was almost 10:00. Lorelai jumped out bed and quickly got ready for work before running down to Luke's diner. Lorelai gasped for breath and collapsed at the entrance of Luke's. Babette Dell opened the door for her and Lorelai dragged herself.

"You!" Lorelai cried and pointed to her husband. Luke simply turned around to look at her.

"Yeah?" Luke asked. Lorelai finally managed to stand and followed Luke to the counter.

"You didn't wake me! You turned my alarm off! You let me sleep in and now I'm late." Lorelai complained but Luke simply smiled at her.

"You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to ruin that. Also, you and Lane were the only sober ones last night." Luke handed Lorelai a cup of decaffeinated coffee and a blueberry muffin to go. Lorelai took her breakfast and headed over to the

Dragonfly Inn.

Rory typed furiously on her computer at her desk in the CDN that she barely noticed that Angela was calling her name. Rory felt a tap on her shoulder and she finally turned around to see Angela holding lunch for herself and Rory. Rory gladly accepted the cheeseburger and tried to look away from her article and focus on Angela. However, Rory's mind kept drifting to her embarrassment that morning and was grateful when lunch ended. No sooner had Rory turned back to her desk but Cooper's secretary, Caroline, arrived to announce that Cooper wished to speak to Rory. Rory quietly left her desk and followed the dull Caroline to Cooper's office. Rory sat down in a chair opposite Cooper and waited for him to say something.

"Rory, thank you for coming on such short notice." Cooper started.

"No notice. What is it boss? I'm almost finished with the article and I should have it ready by 4:30 for layout." Rory explained as Cooper offered her a cup of coffee.

"Listen, I wanted to clear the air about this morning." Cooper started again but Rory shook her head.

"There's no need for that. I've already forgotten about it. The janitor will enjoy cleaning up the mess." Rory sipped her coffee which she decided wasn't half bad.

"Logan's my cousin and he really loved you. Logan and I are also very good friends as well as cousins so I know more about you than you may care to realise. There's a chance that he's told me everything. I know about the Life and Death Brigade and Yale and the horrific events that have involved his family." Cooper continued on his ramble of how much of Rory's life, he knew of. Rory eventually had to stop him before he went too far.

"It's great that you wanted to clear the air but the air is clear. I get it that you and Logan are close but he never mentioned you to me and yet you know all about me and my relationship with Logan. I should get back to work." Rory stood up and left before Cooper could stop her.

Rory rushed back to her desk and Angela joined her when she noticed that Rory was flushed, yet upset. Angela kneeled beside Rory and handed her a tissue.

"You know what we need to do tonight?" Angela asked but Rory shook her head. "Go clubbing." Rory looked up in surprise.

"Clubbing? Us?" Rory questioned as Angela nodded.

"I think some partying will do you good. We're young, single ladies. We should be able to paint the town after work." Angela left Rory to finish up her article which she did in no time.

Lorelai Gilmore arrived tardy to the Dragonfly Inn, welcomed by Michel's complaints that he had arrived at work before her. Lorelai gulped the last of her coffee and threw away her rubbish. Lorelai headed straight to the kitchen to see Sookie, who also had not arrived. Lorelai turned to one of the cooks.

"Where's Sookie?" Lorelai asked panicked but the cook just shook his head. Lorelai rushed back to the front desk and called Sookie's house repeatedly but no one picked up. Lorelai finally turned to Michel.

"Where's Sookie?! She's not in the kitchen and she's not at home." Lorelai asked but Michel was no help. "Cover the desk while I'm gone." Lorelai told Michel as she rushed out to her car and remembered to call Sookie's mobile. Finally she picked up.

Sookie: Hello?

Lorelai: Sookie! Hi! Where on earth are you?

Sookie: Oh, well, it's a long story.

Lorelai: Give me the 'Readers Digest' version

Sookie: Over the weekend, we went to visit Jackson's parents and we were driving back late after dinner and we arrived early this weekend and we went sleep and-

Lorelai: Fast forward sweetie

Sookie: and I went down to the Dragonfly and someone has not been mopping those floors and I slipped and fell and I may have broken something.

Lorelai: Oh my god! Where are you now?

Sookie: At the hospital. Don't worry about me! You go about your daily business and get Manny to take over.

Lorelai: Fine but get a doctor to call me sooner or later

Lorelai hung up the phone and sighed as she leant against her Jeep. Lorelai headed back into the Dragonfly Inn and told Manny to take over the kitchen. Lorelai returned to the front desk when she saw a group of customers waiting for her to check them in.

Rory looked at herself in the mirror while she was waiting for Angela to pick her up. Rory twirled around and decided to change her shoes. At this time, she heard the doorbell buzz and quickly ran to answer the door. Angela stood waiting for her and Rory let her in before she ran back to her bedroom for another pair of shoes. Rory glanced up at the 'Love Rocket' that Logan had given her years ago. It pained her to see it but she quickly decided to forget about it and to pack it away later.

"So which town are we painting first?" Rory enquired as she entered the living room.

"I was thinking perhaps one of the clubs in town." Angela suggested as Rory grabbed a purse and they headed out. There were plenty of nightclubs in the city and Rory knew that if her grandmother ever saw her here, she'd be horrified.

Rory and Angela entered one of the clubs and she saw Marty at the bar. Rory led Angela to introduce her to her friend.

"Hey Marty! Marty, this is Angela. Angela, this is my friend Marty. We went to Yale together." Rory introduced her friends and was pleased to see them shake hands. Rory and Angela each ordered a martini for themselves and Marty brought around a beer for himself.

"So, Marty, if you're a fireman, why are you bartending?" Rory enquired at which Marty responded that he was simply lending a hand after his years of experience bartending for Logan's parties. Angela seemed surprised that their former boss actually partied in his youth. Angela and Marty were deep in discussion about various interests when Rory started to look around for anyone else she knew. Rory tried to join in the conversation when she realised that she didn't seem to fit in. Rory felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Cooper and Logan behind her. Rory took her martini and excused herself from Marty and Angela to sit with Cooper and Logan. Once they were settled at the bar, Logan turned to Rory.

"Rory, I just wanted to apologise about being at the paper. Not to mention dragging you away from your friends." Logan continued on but Rory remained quiet as she listened. "I didn't think that you would be there. I thought you were taking the world by storm. Are you listening to me?" Logan finally asked and Rory realised that she had barely grunted in acknowledgement.

"Yes, I'm listening and you don't need to explain yourself. I'm sorry also. Where did Cooper go?" Rory asked as she looked around the nightclub for her boss.

"So, what do you think of Cooper?" Logan asked,

"He's a more mature 'Logan Huntzberger.'" Rory joked and Logan finally asked whether they could be friends. Rory fell back into her quiet thoughtfulness. "I'm not sure, Logan. Maybe one day." Rory looked over at Logan's disappointed eyes as she took a sip of her drink.

"Pity. I think we had potential at being friends. After all, we've been joking about my cousin." Logan tried to plead with her but Rory decided to think about it.

"Speaking of which, why did you never mention him when we were together? Apparently you told him _all _about me." Rory questioned. Logan took a sip at his beer and turned to Rory.

"I didn't tell you about Cooper because-" Logan stopped.

"Because?"

"Because I decided that I wanted to keep you away from my family as much as possible. Cooper is one of the more pleasant Huntzbergers but my parents were horrible at that dinner. I don't really know! He tells me all about his girlfriends. Cooper was always far away from the rest of us. He was at Honor's wedding, when I intended to introduce you to him. I hardly see him and this is the first and longest time that we've been in the same state and the same city. I'll be back in California before you know it." Logan drank the rest of his beer as Cooper rejoined them at the bar. "Where were you?" Logan asked.

"Oh, you know, over there." Cooper indicated towards the other end of the nightclub as he set a second round of drinks for everyone. Rory glanced over at Marty and Angela, who seemed to be having a great time getting to know one another.

Logan, Cooper and Rory exchanged various tales about California, Yale, the Life and Death Brigade and childhood stories. Logan finally excused himself to go to the bathroom and Cooper took his stool, closer to Rory.

"So, Rory. How are you enjoying writing at the Connecticut Daily News?" Cooper enquired.

"There's a lot of drama. I think my friend Angela over there has now found the love of her life. It's great to write for a small newspaper, especially one so close to my hometown." Rory started to tell him all about Stars Hollow. Some of it, he had learned from Logan's visit to Stars Hollow during Spring Break with the Hay Bale Maze. Cooper was equally fascinated with Stars Hollow. Cooper had originally grown up in Hartford and moved abroad to New York and then San Francisco as soon as he could.

"It's funny how we've all ended up back home." Cooper mused out loud.

"Well, my high school is down the road from the Daily News and it's also close to my grandparent's house." Rory explained to Cooper when Logan arrived back at the bar.

Late that night, Rory and Angela decided to leave. Rory discovered that it was difficult to pry Angela away from Marty, but they had soon enough exchanged phone numbers. Angela was clearly charmed by Marty and Rory was glad for her little unintentional matchmaking scheme. As Angela babbled on about Marty and their loves and debates about everything under the sun, Rory couldn't help but think of Cooper in comparison to Logan. By the end of the night, Rory and Logan were almost comfortable being in each other's company again without anything romantic occurring. Rory also enjoyed being in Cooper's company and wondered what would've happened if they had met earlier or at Yale.

Lorelai was exhausted after a long day's work at the Dragonfly Inn and yet her mother had requested that she and Luke have dinner with them that very evening. It had turned out that Manny was also ill and Lorelai had called Luke once again to take over the kitchen at the Inn. Neither Lorelai nor Luke was alert enough to cope with an evening of Emily Gilmore. Lorelai was also irritated that Luke wouldn't let her drink coffee even though she managed to secretly drink the odd cup of coffee now and then. Luke let Lorelai out of his green truck and they dragged themselves to the front door of the Gilmore mansion. A young maid opened the door and took their coats as she let them inside. Emily greeted them in the foyer and enquired after Lorelai's health as they proceeded into the living room. Emily handed Luke and Lorelai a drink each and sat down to talk to Luke about Lorelai's health.

"So Luke, what have your plans been for keeping Lorelai healthy?"

"Oh, well, you know, I've tried to keep her off caffeinated coffee but I think she's having a bit of trouble with that." Luke explained.

"I'm still here guys" Lorelai quickly interjected but she was ignored.

"She seems fine with staying off alcohol and we keep her away from smokers." Luke continued. Emily decided to turn to Lorelai.

"You know Lorelai that it is very dangerous to have a baby at your age. There is a much higher risk of your child getting Down syndrome or becoming obese. However, I don't see obesity as an issue seeing as how you and Rory eat so much and manage to keep your figures." Emily continued on as Lorelai felt herself closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Lorelai awoke a few hours later in her old bedroom as it took her a minute to remember where she was. As she sat up, Luke arrived at the door to wake her up.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked blearily.

"You fell asleep. It's fine and your mother understands. We have a whole plan for you until you give birth." Luke dragged Lorelai to her feet as she groaned at the thought of her mother becoming even more involved with her pregnancy. Luke and Lorelai said 'goodbye' to Emily as they left and Lorelai fell asleep again in Luke's truck on the way back to Stars Hollow.

Rory Gilmore arrived to her dark apartment well after midnight and saw that she had a couple of messages on her machine. Rory pressed play and the first one was from her mother.

Lorelai: _Hey sweetie, as I can see you're not home. Well just thought I'd check in as I'm on my way to a spontaneous dinner with Emily Gilmore tonight. Don't work too hard and make sure you're having fun. See you on Friday night. Bye._

The second was from Paris Gellar

Paris: _Hi Rory. This is Paris. I was calling to let you know that this weekend we'll need to have a Wedding Planner's Weekend. Doyle and I would like to know what you've been planning so come over to my place at 11 and don't be late. _

Rory turned the machine off as she stumbled in the dark to her bedroom and went to sleep. Rory changed into her pyjamas and lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling until she finally fell asleep.

**A/N: Ok, so that took me ages to write especially when I was supposed to be working on schoolwork but Fanfiction is a great procrastination tool. **** I hope you enjoyed it and please, someone, please tell me what fluff is! I will be eternally grateful. I hope you enjoyed the chapter as I'll probably skip over to wedding planning on the weekend with Paris and Doyle and may skip some periods of time. **


	9. SecondFirst Ultrasound & Wedding Plans

Chapter Nine – A Second-First Ultrasound and Wedding Planning

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry that this took so long! I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to merdarkandtwisty for explaining 'fluff'. Perhaps you can explain 'Literati' and 'PDLD' or something like that. Anyways, I want to start speeding things up a bit with the characters like Rory and Cooper. Only just a tiny little bit. I hope you enjoy Chapter 9!**

Rory Gilmore was thrilled that it was finally the weekend as she drove over to her best friend Paris Gellar's house. Her and Doyle lived in a small townhouse which Doyle had acquired as a super-early-Wedding-present. Rory pulled into the driveway and went up to the door to press the doorbell. Rory heard a strange sound so she pushed the door open and saw Paris and Doyle on the couch. Rory quickly slammed the door loud enough to announce her existence outside the door. There were a few noises as Paris and Doyle got dressed again and brushed down their mussed hair. Paris finally opened the door for Rory and noticed that Terence was also walking up the driveway behind Rory. Paris stepped aside to let them in.

"Hello Rory. Hello Terence. Are we ready to work on this wedding? I'm so jazzed! I never would've thought of me getting married." Paris greeted everyone and offered them a platter of biscuits and coffee.

"Hi Rory. Hi Terence. Thank you so much for helping us with this wedding. It means a lot." Doyle greeted everyone and Rory assured them both that it was no problem.

"Before we get to wedding stuff, which I'm thrilled about, I'm dying to know what boring life stuff has been happening. Where are you guys working?" Rory enquired as she helped herself to a biscuit. Paris was still working at the local hospital and Doyle was working at the Hartford Current.

"Now Paris, have you been writing in your Pretty Thoughts Journal?" Terence asked.

"No Terence, I've been a bit busy with work and this whole wedding deal." Paris complained before turning to Rory. "What have you done?"

"Uh um well I've observed how my Mom plans weddings and Sookie is going to do the catering so food's organised. You have a location right? It was on the invitation. Have you got a dress? We need to organise flowers and am I the only person working on this? What have you done before?" Paris dragged Rory through the house to her bedroom and forced Rory to sit on the bed.

"I don't have a wedding dress yet." Paris announced and Rory went to get her keys. "Where are you going?" Paris asked impatiently as Rory announced that they were going to go wedding dress shopping right then.

Paris drove down into the city area of Hartford and they entered the first wedding dress shop they found. As they entered, Rory noticed the several sales assistants hiding in the back of the shop.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Rory enquired.

"Hello! Is anybody here?! You're not going to make a dime if you don't come out of hiding. Morons. Yes I have been here and they are even less competent than when I was here last week. How'd you know?"

"Wild guess. So if you hadn't got a dress yet, why did you send out the invitations and plan for the wedding so soon?" Rory looked around at the various dresses and looked out of the window of the shop. Rory saw Logan and Cooper Huntzberger having a cup of coffee at a coffee shop across the road.

"Well, we were so excited to get engaged that we wanted to get married as soon as possible. What on earth are you staring at? Oh, it's Huntzberger and who else is that with Logan?" Paris enquired but Rory found it hard to speak.

"Umm that would be- be- h-h-his c-c-ousin Coop- Cooper. Yes, Cooper Huntzberger who is also my boss." Rory stuttered out and sat down on a nearby stool.

"You're not high for him are you? I think it's frowned upon, you know, the employee dating the employer. How about we go get some coffee?" Paris suggested at which Rory simply nodded and followed. Paris and Rory entered the coffee shop and quickly ordered their coffees. Rory tried to remain oblivious to Logan and Cooper's existence in the shop but it did not work for long.

"Rory!" Rory's head spun around to see Logan and Cooper calling her. Rory and Paris approached their table and placed the number stand in the middle of the table.

"Hello. How has your weekend been?" Rory enquired.

"Oh, we've just been chilling. What do you say Coop?" Logan looked over at Cooper who simply agreed. Remembering Paris, Rory introduced her to Cooper and apologised. A waitress delivered their coffees at which Rory was grateful.

"Well, Logan, have you made something of yourself yet?" Paris enquired

"Well, Paris yes I believe I'm on my way. I momentarily went back to my father's business but I'm not so sure about a journalism career. I'm setting myself up in California although I'm not there. I'll be going back next week." Paris nodded along to Logan's babbling without listening to him much.

"Paris and Doyle are getting married. Did you know that? Crazy huh?" Rory accidentally blurted out. Logan smiled at Paris and congratulated her.

Cooper also quietly congratulated her and enquired as to why it was crazy.

"I'm right here." Paris reminded them, "I also don't think it's crazy getting married."

"No, it's great. I'm sorry, I don't know where 'crazy' came from." Rory sipped her coffee and didn't look at Cooper.

"You know, Rory, I may not be working at the paper for much longer." Cooper finally said.

"Oh, that's too bad. Hopefully you'll keep in touch and make sure no chaos has ensued at the newspaper." Rory hinted slightly and Paris reminded Rory to say 'goodbye' as they had to continue looking for dresses. Rory stood up at the same time as Cooper to bid them farewell. Rory turned around and crashed into Cooper again, sending more napkins flying into the air. Rory ran into the opposite direction leaving Logan laughing at her clumsiness, a trait that he did not see often while they were together at Yale. Paris waved at them quickly before running after Rory.

"Well, that was fun." Paris stated and Rory gave her a 'you're-crazy' type of look.

"I feel so stupid. That's the second time I've done that." Paris laughed as they walked over to a wedding shop where Paris had not scared away the employees. By lunchtime, Rory and Paris found the perfect white flowing dress.

Lorelai Gilmore stood sideways in front of the long mirror in her bedroom. It was 7am and Lorelai was wearing a nightgown. Lorelai stroked her stomach and thought she was imagining things. She was showing. There was a bump. Lorelai wasn't so sure about the bump actually being there. Her ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon would prove that. Luke was at the diner working and Lorelai was left alone for the day. She considered going into work but she didn't feel up to dealing with Michel. Lorelai turned around the other way. Lorelai lay back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She needed coffee. Lorelai dragged herself down the stairs and into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of decaf. Lorelai placed a pop tart into the toaster and decided to search for the caffeinated coffee. There was a note stuck to the Mallow mars. It could've been an old note from Rory, as she didn't remember telling Luke their little trick. Apparently he had discovered it himself. It read:

Dear the Crazy Lady by the name of Lorelai,

Gone to the diner. Come for Lunch. I will be unable to join you for your ultrasound this afternoon. See if Sookie or Rory could go with you.

Have a lovely day,

Love Luke.

Lorelai smiled at her note from Luke and ate her pop-tart before calling Sookie.

Sookie: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey, what's happening? It sounds loud there.

Sookie: It's a complete disaster! I'm gone for a few days and it's chaos here!

Lorelai: You're at the inn?

Sookie: The Inn that's going to go bankrupt because breakfast is a complete disaster! How are you?

Lorelai: Nauseous. Chances are that this pop-tart won't stay down for long. Are you free this afternoon at 3pm? Luke bailed on going to the ultrasound with me.

Sookie: I don't think so. I'm sorry that Luke bailed on you… and I'm bailing on you too. How about Rory?

Lorelai: Yeah, I'll try her. Have a good day

Sookie: Oh, you too. Call and let me know how it goes too!

Lorelai: Will do. Bye.

Lorelai hung up the phone and immediately called Rory. She looked at the phone time and saw it was only 8am. A sleepy Rory answered the phone.

Rory (Sleepily): Hello?

Lorelai: Hi!

Rory: You're chipper. Why are you calling so early?

Lorelai: It's not that early. The day's half over. What are your plans today?

Rory: Wedding planning with Paris and Doyle. What about you?

Lorelai: Will you be free at 3?

Rory: You didn't answer my question

Lorelai: Neither did you!

Rory: Yes, I'm free at 3pm

Lorelai: Good. Today I'm relaxing, having lunch at Luke's and was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the ultrasound office.

Rory: Sounds good. Is that all?

Lorelai: Yep, you can go back to sleep now. Don't forget it's at the Hartford Hospital and you know where it is. See you at 3 Rose!

Rory: See you at 3 Ava.

Lorelai hung up the phone satisfied with herself that she had a date to go to the ultrasound with.

Paris and Rory arrived back at Paris and Doyle's house to find Paris' parents sitting with Doyle and Terence, discussing the wedding.

"I think that you should have this flower arrangement. I'll pay for it all. It'll be beautiful." Paris' mother's voice echoed as Paris slowly approached the living room where they all were. Rory followed closely behind, holding the box containing Paris' wedding dress. Paris peeked her head into the living room and true enough, both of her parents were there sitting across from Doyle and Terence. Doyle looked very tense and terrified of Mrs Gellar while Terence looked his usual self.

"Mom? Dad?" Paris squeaked. Paris was not normally anxious or nervous but instead overly confident. Paris' parents stood up to look at their grown up daughter.

"Paris dear! Let me see you! You didn't think you were going to get away without your mother preparing for your wedding did you?" Paris' mother pulled Paris into an awkward hug as Rory stood behind, leaning against the doorway. Paris' father shook hands with his daughter. "Now Paris, I've been helping and was seeing if I could plan this wedding. Who's that behind you?" Paris' mother asked as it dawned on Paris that her mother had missed a great deal of her life by moving out of the United States.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Rory Gilmore. She's going to be my maid of honour and we've asked her sort of to assist us in planning this wedding." Paris slowly admitted and looked at the ground.

"Oh, that's great. It's nice to meet you Rory. I really should've checked with you first. Can't I help at all? Not even just a little bit?" Mrs Gellar enquired and Rory nodded that she could help.

"I'd like to go over the guest list with you." Rory asked Paris.

"There's you, Lorelai, my parents, Doyle's parents and basically Doyle's entire family. Nanny is coming as well as all my cousins and the rest of my family. Madeline and Louise are coming. I could invite that Cooper guy if you really wanted." Paris suggested at which Rory blushed slightly.

"Paris, that's nice but really not necessary." Rory glanced down at her watch. "I think we should have lunch and then I have to go meet my Mom." Everyone agreed and Paris' mother tried to find something edible in the fridge.

Lorelai and Rory met and walked down to the reception area to wait for Lorelai's ultrasound.

"So how was wedding planning?" Lorelai enquired.

"Eventful. We bought a dress for Paris and Paris' mother tried to teach her to cook. It didn't go very well. We also ran into Logan and Cooper." Rory explained.

"Ooh, what was that like?" Lorelai looked up and saw that her mother Emily Gilmore was at the front desk. Emily turned around to see Lorelai.

"Hello Lorelai. Hello Rory. How's Paris' wedding planning going?" Emily asked.

"Mom! What are you doing here? How did you even know about this?" Lorelai complained loudly.

"Lower your voice Lorelai. In answer to your questions, I'm here to support you with your ultrasound and Luke told me." Emily boasted and sat down on the other side of Lorelai. "I used to come with you to your ultrasounds with your first pregnancy."

"I was sixteen when I was pregnant with Rory. Luke told you about this?" Lorelai questioned feeling confused and nauseous.

"Yes, he thought you hadn't managed to get anyone to go with you so I'm here. I see Rory was able to make it." Emily admitted.

"So you didn't tell him at lunch?" Rory asked

"Nope." Lorelai admitted. All three generations of Gilmores looked up when Lorelai's name was called out. Emily and Rory followed Lorelai into the room. Lorelai lay down on the bed and waited for the technician to return.

"Hello Mrs Gilmore." The technician greeted as she re-entered.

"Hi, this is my daughter and my mother." Lorelai introduced gesturing to the two women surrounding her. The technician poured cold blue gel over Lorelai's stomach as Lorelai winced from the cold. The technician moved the wand around Lorelai's baby bump as Rory was completely fascinated.

"Wow. There really is a baby in there. It's also good that you're starting to show." Rory gushed but Lorelai rolled her eyes in a playful manner at her daughter.

"I can't believe that this is my second-first ultrasound. You know Rory, that used to be you inside there." Lorelai smiled at her daughter as Emily watched them.

"Many moons before that, that used to be _you _inside me." Emily gestured towards Lorelai who started to freak out at that point.

"Hello! Mom! That's gross!" Lorelai cried out loud.

"Ewww! Grandmaaa!" Rory winced and the technician giggled at the drama.

"Well, everything is going well in there. No twins or anything. We'll see you again sometime." The technician cleaned most of the gel off of Lorelai. "Because you're quite older, we'll have to check for Down syndrome at some point, but not right now." The technician handed Lorelai a slip and showed them out to the counter.

"Thank you!" Lorelai called after her. Rory turned around to notice that Emily was crying.

"Grandma, don't cry! It's a happy occasion." Rory offered her grandmother a tissue and Lorelai turned to hug her mother. Emily could only nod as she wiped away her tears of joy. Rory joined in the hugging and soon all three generations of Gilmore Girls were giggling and crying in the middle of the reception.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that all! I should have chapter 10 up in a couple of weeks as the rest of my assessment is due next week. Will appreciate feedback although not necessary. **


	10. A Question, an Answer & a Visitor

Chapter Ten – A Question, An Answer and a Visitor

**A/N: Hi everyone! First of all, thank you to all those who have reviewed all my chapters of my story. Second of all… (drumroll please) here's Chapter 10! I'm sorry that this took so long but I had evil exams. I never forgot my story though and I started writing little bits of it every now and then in a notebook. So here it is! I hope you enjoy it! **

Lorelai Gilmore sat at the kitchen table admiring and playing with the ultrasound photo of her and Luke's baby. She turned it to the side and flipped it around. Lorelai had attempted throwing it into the air earlier but that resulted in the photo almost getting dirty on the floor. Lorelai eventually gave up on playing with the photo and stuck it to the fridge. At that moment, she heard her husband Luke arrive home. Lorelai spun around to greet him but started to fall. Luckily Luke was there in time to save her. Lorelai sat down on the ground as Luke reached down to kiss her. Lorelai quickly got up and directed her husband towards the direction of the fridge.

"Wow. Is that our little Nick or Nora?" Luke enquired.

"Yep but I like the names Sid and Nancy better. Good thing there is only one little baby and not twins. I couldn't deal with twins. Rory used to go to school with a pair of twins in Stars Hollow Elementary and I was convinced that they were evil, grow up and take over the world and get rid of only children. I told Rory this story and she still doesn't go near them." Lorelai joked and Luke eventually started to pull ingredients out of the fridge for dinner. "You know, it's probably a good thing that I married you because now, our fridge is always full. When it was just Rory and I, we either had nothing or funny flavoured Cokes." Lorelai kissed her husband once again and started to head towards the bathroom for a shower.

"Oh, Lorelai! Can you please wait a second?" Luke called to his wife. Lorelai slowly stepped back down the stairs. "We need to set up Rory's old room for a guest."

"Who's coming?" Lorelai asked.

"Jess is coming to stay for a few days here. He's just coming for a visit, you know. I guess it's April's new room too. Not to mention little No-Name on the way. Should we get a bigger house?" Luke babbled on and Lorelai nodded, indicating that the guest room would be set up. Lorelai went back up the stairs to have her shower.

The following Monday morning was an ordinary day at the Connecticut Daily News as everyone worked frantically to ensure that they met their deadlines. Rory Gilmore typed as fast as she could when Cooper looked over her shoulder to see the progress of her story.

"You spelt a word wrong." Cooper whispered in her ear. Rory jumped at his sudden appearance and nearly fell off of her chair. Cooper was able to catch her before she fell to the ground.

"Thanks," Rory mumbled quietly as she started to blush again.

"Rory, are you okay?" Cooper enquired. Rory nodded her head in response as she continued to work. "It's just – actually, can we please talk in my office?" Cooper left for his office to wait for Rory. Rory glanced nervously towards Angela who decided to come around to Rory's desk.

"What do I do?" Rory asked in a panicked manner.

"Can I give you a bit of advice?" Angela offered and at that Rory could only nod. "First of all, relax and remember to breathe. Second of all, it's probably not the best idea to date your boss. Chances are that it is frowned upon. However, you guys do seem to like each other and if anything does happen, I promise that my lips are sealed. I'll always be on your side. Third of all, you should probably go to his office now." Angela stood up and went back to her desk to continue working on her story. Rory breathed deeply to gather herself and get ready to leave.

"Thanks Angie," Rory said as she made her way to Cooper's office.

Cooper was half-sitting on his desk when Rory finally entered.

"You wanted to see me boss?" Rory asked as she closed the door behind herself.

"As a boss, it is my job to ensure that everyone writes and meets their deadline, to ensure that this paper comes out every morning and to look after the welfare of my employees. Are you sure you're okay?" Cooper questioned. Rory tried to calm herself down although it wasn't working very well.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine." Rory tried to show that she was fine.

"It's just that I seem to be bothering you a bit."

Rory remembered the first time this had happened and Dean had thought that he was bothering her. She had told him that she was definitely interested in him. She was only 15 at the time. A lot of time had passed between then and now. Rory then remembered when she had first slept with Dean and he was married.

"You're not bothering me at all. You're great. You're a great boss." Rory said.

Cooper reminded her of all her recent 'klutz moments' from spilling coffee and knocking over napkins to the most recent event of almost falling out of her chair. "I was also wondering, if you would like to get a cup of coffee with me sometime?" Cooper threw in and Rory was stunned that her boss might be asking her out.

"Are you seriously asking me out?" Rory asked to clarify and Cooper simply nodded. Rory remembered when her mother was dating her English teacher, Max Medina at Chilton. They had clearly both moved on since then and Rory was happy for them both. "I don't think that's such a great idea. It's probably frowned upon to date your boss. It's almost like when my Mom dated my English teacher in High School." Rory was stunned that she had said this out loud to a complete stranger. "Oops." Rory looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Do you want to go?" Cooper let this new information about Rory's past slide away.

"Yes, wait, no, I can't. We could both lose our jobs. If that happens, I'll never get to work at The New York Times." Rory rambled on.

"We both do our jobs well. It could work if we didn't get distracted and this type of stuff happens all the time in books and movies. Let me know when you do decide." At that, Rory left Cooper's office without another word.

'What am I doing?' Jess Mariano thought to himself as he drove in the night on his way to Stars Hollow. 'Come and visit your Uncle Luke and your new Aunt Lorelai for a few days here in Stars Hollow,' Jess relayed the phone conversation from yesterday between him and Luke in his head. He couldn't believe he was going back. He could never believe he was going to Stars Hollow. As a rebellious teenager, he was dragged away from New York and stuck in a small Connecticut town that no one had ever heard of. After the car accident, he moved back to Stars Hollow after being sent home to New York. There was only one reason that he had moved back or stayed there for so long at all: Rory Gilmore. Perhaps she was the reason he was going back now. Perhaps she was the reason he had agreed to visit Luke and Lorelai. Also, his new Aunt Lorelai? He and Lorelai had never truly gotten along, even when he was dating Rory. Perhaps he was really going back to see if Rory was also visiting Luke and Lorelai. Him and Rory were now step-cousins and he was sure that Rory would find it creepy dating him again in these circumstances. What did he call her now? Step-Cuz? Jess laughed out loud at the thought. The headlights of the car lit up the 'Welcome to Hartford, Connecticut' sign. Jess decided that this was a great place to take a break and put a few of Truncheon's new releases in some bookstores here. Jess continued to drive around and found a vaguely familiar car parked outside of a bookstore. It was a faded blue Toyota Prius that he remembered seeing when he came back to Stars Hollow and told her that he loved her. Jess wondered whether he still loved her. He probably did as he wrote The Subsect all for her. Jess parked his car in the same car park and headed into the bookstore.

Rory Gilmore tapped her pen against the Pro/Con list, trying to decide whether to date Cooper or not. She was considering going home at that point when she saw a familiar figure walk into the bookstore she was parked in front of. Immediately tossing the Pro/Con list onto the passenger seat, she ran into the bookstore before he would be able to leave. Rory wandered aimlessly through the aisles until she found him in the classic literature section. He was leaning against the bookshelf, reading a thin book. His dark hair was longer it was the last time she had seen him at Luke and Lorelai's wedding. Aside from that, he was exactly the same.

"Jess?" Rory quietly asked. Jess spun around on his heel and smiled as he saw Rory standing there.

"Hi Rory, how've you been?" Jess asked politely. Rory simply shrugged her shoulders. "Huh." Jess replied, reminding Rory of his old monosyllabic ways.

"So, what are you doing here in Hartford?" Rory finally asked.

"I'm on my way to visit Luke and Lorelai in Stars Hollow for about a week. I was going to also put some of Truncheon's new releases in here and a few other bookstores." Jess told her.

"Well, maybe I'll drop by the Hollow this weekend and we can catch up properly." Rory suggested, although she felt awkward offering it.

"That would be nice. So, what are you doing here in Hartford? You're not at The New York Times?" Jess enquired.

"No, I'm not at The New York Times yet. I live here and work here." Rory stated.

"You live here? In this bookstore?" Jess teased.

"Jess!" Rory complained although she was secretly enjoying his company.

"Am I standing where you sleep? I could move if you want me to." Jess continued to tease Rory who had crossed her arms over her chest at that point.

"I work at the Connecticut Daily News and I live in an apartment, here in Hartford." Rory stated and Jess simply nodded along.

"Are you going to continue to drive to Stars Hollow tonight? Where are you staying?" Rory enquired and it was Jess' turn to shrug.

"I was going to drive to Stars Hollow tonight but I'm pretty tired at the moment. I drove here from Philadelphia today." Jess stated.

"Well, you know, you could always crash at my place tonight and sleep on the couch. It's a comfortable couch." Rory hesitantly offered and Jess decided to take her up on her offer. At that, Rory and Jess left the bookstore to have dinner together.

Rory ran ahead into her apartment and started to clean up her mess and threw her Pro/Con list onto the couch.

"Need more time to clean up?" Jess asked as he waited outside the door. They had gone to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and Rory sped off ahead of Jess to clean up her apartment.

"Dammit!" Rory cursed as she threw her clothes in her room and cleaned her apartment. "Come on in!" Rory yelled out to Jess who took that as an invitation to do so. Jess sat down on the couch and he realised that he was sitting on a pad of paper.

"Pro/Con List of Dating Cooper?" Jess read aloud and gave Rory a wary look.

"What?" Rory questioned as she sat down. She felt herself flush at his name.

"So who's the guy?" Jess enquired.

"What guy?" Rory questioned back.

"The guy you're contemplating dating and wrote a whole Pro/Con list for. The guy who could jeopardise a position at The New York Times if you dated him and things ended badly. The guy whose name sounds like he should be a cherub cupid carrying a bow and arrow and striking hopeless romantics instead of having a decent job as a journalist, I assume?" Jess read aloud

"Oh, him." Rory said in hopes of satisfying him.

"Did you write a Pro/Con list for me in High School?" Jess asked.

"At some stage, yes. Not when I visited you in New York or kissed you at Sookie and Jackson's wedding. I think it was around when we started to become friends." Rory admitted.

"What about Dean? Or that Yale rich blond jerk?" Jess scoffed. "I thought you would've married him by now and be living a rich, comfortable, stuffy life."

"He asked me to marry him, right before I graduated from Yale." Rory stated. "Obviously I rejected him as I'm not living a 'rich, comfortable, stuffy life.'" Rory quoted. "Well you can obviously sleep here on the couch. I'm sorry that I don't have anything better for you."

"It's fine." Jess stated and Rory left to get him blankets and pillows. "I want my pillow mints." Jess joked and Rory simply laughed at his comment.

Rory fumbled her way through the dark from her bedroom to the kitchen. She instinctively switched the light on and saw Jess at the sink, filling up a glass of water. He turned around to see Rory standing at the door beside the switch.

"I'm sorry." Rory apologised and saw Jess simply shrug.

"Hey, it's your place." Jess turned around to look at Rory. Rory carefully walked further into the kitchen as if the floor was covered with broken glass.

"I just came for a glass of water." Rory said, as she got closer to the sink. Jess politely filled a glass of water for her. Their fingers brushed slightly as he passed the drink to her. Rory stood beside the sink as she drank the water. She set the glass down on the kitchen bench. When she turned around, Jess and Rory embraced in a passionate kiss. Rory felt Jess leading her back to her bedroom. As she kissed him back, all their memories came flooding back to her. Howl and Dodger. The phony murder. The Bracebridge Dinner. The Bid a Basket Festival. The car accident. Her visit to him in New York. The kiss at Sookie and Jackson's wedding. Shane. The Dance Marathon. His old James Dean attitude. The care package. The Winter Carnival. The black eye. The fight at Kyle's party. The wake up call. The Subsect. The kiss at Truncheon. She was overwhelmed with their past and she pulled away. This was wrong, Rory told herself.

"Oh my god!" Rory complained.

"Wow! That was pretty 'wow', right up until you pushed me away." Jess smiled to himself.

"Wow? Wow?! That was so not Wow! That was so wrong. It felt incestuous." Rory complained.

"Incestuous?" Jess questioned.

"Yes! My mum is married to your uncle who I've known all my life. We are step-cousins. This is totally freaky." Rory freaked out.

"What about back in high school? Was that incestuous?" Jess questioned.

"No but they weren't together then." Rory justified her argument.

"Rory, you invited me to sleep here." Jess argued.

"So you didn't crash and die from fatigue on your way to Stars Hollow. Not to mention, to sleep on the couch over there, not with me." Rory argued as she paced angrily around the kitchen.

"Oh come on!" Jess complained in frustration.

"I'm going to bed, Jess." Rory stated as she left the kitchen and switched the light off on her way. Jess was left standing alone in the dark kitchen.

The following morning, Jess Mariano drove all the way from Hartford to Stars Hollow in silence. She had promised him that she would visit him on the weekend, regardless of the incident that had occurred the previous night. He could still taste her on his lips. Jess, feeling frustrated, accidently hit the steering wheel so hard that the horn sounded. Jess had not been able to sleep afterwards and even now, he felt tired. Jess concentrated on driving to Stars Hollow in one piece, without falling asleep or crashing. He knew that he wasn't very far now. Jess felt relief wash over him as he approached the 'Welcome to Stars Hollow' sign. He couldn't ever remember feeling relieved as he entered Stars Hollow before. Jess looked around at the town as he drove to Luke and Lorelai's house. Some of his happiest memories had happened in this tiny backwards town. The memories came flooding back to him. He remembered the Bid a Basket Festival and the Winter Carnival. 'Did this happen to Rory last night?' Jess thought to himself as he remembered Rory pushing him away. Jess felt a pang in his chest and he pushed that awful memory away as he drove into the driveway.

Jess took the key out of the turtle and let himself in to the house. Jess set himself up in Rory's old room. It looked different than he remembered it before in high school. That was to be expected. After all, it had been a very long time. The Harvard paraphernalia was replaced with Yale paraphernalia. Rory's articles were stuck to the walls. The original travel posters were still there but were now faded and old. There was a trundle bed set out and Jess wondered whether he was the only visitor. Many of Rory's books had gone and all that remained were the ones placed in the only bookshelf. He assumed that Rory had taken the rest with her to Hartford. The paint looked old and faded. The sense that this was only Rory's room had long since disappeared. Jess decided to leave the house in search of the diner and let Luke know that he had arrived. As Jess walked through the town, he made note that there were no decorations for any upcoming crazy festival shindigs.

The bell chimed above the door signalling Jess' arrival into Luke's diner. The diner was packed with people at this point and Jess realised that it was the morning rush. Silence fell over everyone as they turned to stare at Jess Mariano, back at Stars Hollow. A scene that no one had expected since Luke and Lorelai's wedding. Luke looked up at Jess, who sat himself down at the counter. The usual chatter of various conversations at once resumed and everyone tried to ignore him.

"Hi Luke." Jess greeted quietly.

"Hey Jess. How are you doing?" Luke asked excitedly. "I'm really glad you're here. Your cousin April will also be coming down this evening. Aren't you glad that you're here?" Luke enquired. Jess looked Luke in the eye.

"I'm not sure yet." Jess replied.

Rory paced angrily back and forth in the CDN kitchen. Rory was relaying the story with Jess to Angela who was anxiously awaiting to hear more.

"He just kissed me." Rory stated. Angela was shocked to hear this.

"What?" Angela questioned.

"Yep, in the middle of the night. It just felt so wrong. I couldn't help it. I mean, his uncle and my mum are now married. Married! We are step-cousins. It just felt too close, which I stupidly brought up." Rory continued to pace angrily.

"No, that wasn't wrong to bring that up. It was right. How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Angela assured Rory who couldn't figure out how she was feeling.

"I don't really know. Does this mean that I'm over Jess? At least romantically?" Rory questioned and Angela agreed. "There was so much that happened between us. He was so unpredictable but he's so smart." Rory stopped pacing the kitchen when Angela made an 'awww' sound. "I guess I have an answer now." Rory stated.

Rory knocked on Cooper's door to his office. She heard a quiet 'come in' and Rory slowly twisted the doorknob. She glanced back at Angela behind her who gave her an encouraging smile. Rory entered his office and closed the door behind her. She turned to face Cooper, who seemed anxious at Rory's sudden arrival.

"Hi Rory. Can I help you with anything?" Cooper asked. Rory took a deep breath.

"I have an answer for you." Rory stated.

**A/N: Would you believe it? Chapter 10 is finished! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. As you can see, it's pretty damn long. I changed bits of it and made it a bit longer because it all looks long when you write it down and it's so small when you type it up. For instance, that scene with Jess and Rory on the couch was initially in Rory's car and then I remembered Jess' car so I changed it. That's enough of my babbling. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 10 and I'll get writing Chapter 11. **

**-Palforpolkadots.**


	11. Two Visitors & One Date

Chapter Eleven – Two Visitors and One Short Date

**A/N: Okay, this is Chapter Eleven. It's a bit rambling and my idea for this story has changed quite a bit for Rory and this is the beginning of that. I do know what the last chapter will be but I don't know when. I hope the little ** work better as separators as I've noticed that the lines don't appear anymore. **

Cooper Huntzberger stood waiting for her answer. Rory's mind was a complete blank and was having troubles breathing. It was only two minutes earlier when she had her answer fully formed. She was going to be practical and adult. Instead, she was dizzy and nauseous. Rory opened her mouth to speak but no noise came out.

"Yes," Rory finally managed to say. "Yes," Rory replied again, a little louder. Cooper finally smiled with relief as he led her towards his office door.

"Great, I'll call you with the details." Cooper assured her. Rory left his office and found that Angela was still waiting for her. Rory waved back slightly to Cooper. Once the door was closed, Rory let out a big sigh and started to run towards her desk.

"How did it go?" Angela asked as she followed her friend down the hall.

"Fine." Rory said as they reached their desks.

"Um, great. You'll give me more details after the date right?" Angela impatiently asked. A fellow co-worker heard their conversation and came closer to join in.

"Who has a date?" Robert, the co-worker, asked.

"Rory does." Angela gestured towards Rory as she confirmed this.

"Who with?" Robert asked. Angela and Rory exchanged nervous glances.

"We don't know. It's a blind date." Angela improvised.

"I once went on a blind date. It was horrible." Robert said as he lost interest in the conversation and decided to go back to work. Rory told Angela about her mother's date with Rune. At that, Rory heard her phone ring and the Caller ID indicated that Paris was calling her.

Rory: Hello?

Paris: It's a complete disaster!

Rory: Paris, slow down. What's wrong?

Paris: My wedding.

Rory: How specific. What part of your wedding is wrong?

Paris: The dress. It's ruined. Can you come over?

Rory: I'm at work right now. I'll call my mom and she'll go fix your dress.

Paris: Can't you come too? What if she's busy? I don't want to inconvenience her. My wedding is in a week and it's ruined already! What am I going to do?

Rory: Breathe, relax and I'll be there as soon as possible.

Paris: But you said…

Rory: Relax!

Rory hung up the phone and quickly grabbed her jacket and work. She ran through the office without a word. She ran past Cooper without explanation or knocking anything over, which at the time was a miracle. Rory called her mother to meet her at Paris and Doyle's house and quickly drove to the same location. Rory arrived before Lorelai and was immediately pulled into the house by Paris. The dress hung on a mannequin and looked fine to Rory, although this was not her area of expertise. Fortunately Lorelai arrived soon afterwards and Paris also dragged her through the house. Rory stayed with the dress.

"Ow, Paris, sweetie, you're killing my arm!" Rory heard Lorelai complain.

"My wedding is in a week and my dress is ruined." Rory rolled her eyes as she heard Paris go through the same argument with Lorelai that she had done with herself on the phone. Lorelai and Paris finally entered the room with Rory.

"Okay, okay, I'll fix it." Lorelai assured her and Paris and Rory sat on the couch in the lounge room.

"Hi Rory. How's work going?" Lorelai enquired.

"It's the same. It's a little dull actually. There isn't much going on." Rory evaded informing her mother of dating Cooper, her boss. She noticed Paris raise an eyebrow at her. Lorelai continued to sew at Paris' dress. "How's everything back home?" Rory asked.

"Oh, it's crazy. We have suddenly all these visitors all at the same time. They are staying in your old room if that's okay. Is that okay? I assumed that you weren't coming home and you have an apartment here in Hartford. I'm sorry. I should've asked you first." Lorelai rambled.

"That's perfectly fine. I don't live there anymore. How many visitors are there? I don't think you could fit a whole army in my room, or even the house. They'd have to be spread all across Stars Hollow like when the Independence Inn burned down." Rory also started to ramble.

"Oh yes, good times. There are only two visitors coming to stay with us. Jess and April are coming. Jess is at the house now and April's coming this evening. Oh, I'm sorry. I still don't know where we stand with discussing Jess." Rory shifted in her seat uncomfortably at the mention of Jess Mariano. "There's also taking care of no-name here. Luke has taken over the kitchen and is making me eat a lot of healthy food. It's horrible." Lorelai indicated to her growing stomach and Paris quickly congratulated her. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help with planning your wedding." Lorelai apologised.

"Oh, that's fine. Rory has been great. I heard that she scared the staff at your inn to find out about wedding planning." Paris assured her. Lorelai finished sewing Paris' dress and presented it to her.

"I'm all done here. Please don't ruin it. In fact, don't touch it or let anyone else touch it. It's not that it's that fragile but there you go. Oh, Rory, before I forget, how is your new boss working out?" Lorelai asked. Paris crossed her arms and smiled sneakily at Rory.

"Oh, he's alright. He's like another Logan Huntzberger." Rory explained and Lorelai said her quick 'byes' before she left. Paris finally turned to Rory.

"Why didn't you tell your mom that you have a thing for this Cooper guy?" Paris interrogated.

"Uh, well, because I'm not sure it's a good idea and I don't think that she'll think it's a good idea either. You could probably lose your job for dating your boss." Rory started to pace the room in a panic.

"Don't worry, it's done all the time. However, you could probably lose your mental health as well as your job. It's best to steer clear of starting a relationship with your boss. You haven't, have you?" Paris asked and Rory confessed that she had taken him up on his offer. At that moment, Rory noticed her phone had started to ring.

"Oh crap, speaking of which, I have to get back to work. It's Cooper calling." Rory quickly answered the phone and immediately told him that she was on her way back to the office, without letting him say a word. Rory said 'bye' to Paris and quickly grabbed her things before driving back to the CDN.

**

That evening, Jess Mariano sat on his bed on the floor, reading one of the few books that had been left on Rory's old bookshelf. The stereo was also blaring with Joey Ramone's 'What a Wonderful World.' April Nardini was due to arrive almost any minute. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Jess turned down the music and stood up to leave the room to answer the door, when he heard Lorelai call to Luke to answer the door. Jess opened the door a crack and started to listen, although he knew that eavesdropping was a bad idea.

"I can't get the door. I'm still half-dressed. You get the door or let Jess get the door." Luke called back to Lorelai.

"April is still your daughter. I got the door for Jess, who is also related to you. Jess also cannot get the door because he's a guest." Lorelai retorted and Jess smirked.

"There's someone at the door!" Jess called upstairs as he waited at the bottom of the staircase.

"We know!" Luke and Lorelai yelled in unison as they both ran down the stairs and Luke eventually answered the door. April Nardini stood outside, clutching her jacket and smiled up at her father.

"Hi Dad. What took so long to answer the door?" April asked and Luke shrugged.

"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?" Luke interrogated and April's face lit up as she realised that he had finally noticed.

"Contact lenses!" April announced excitedly although Luke was shocked.

"Those will ruin your eyes. Where are your glasses?" Luke asked and April showed that she still had her glasses. April took the contact lenses and replaced them with her glasses. Lorelai coughed behind them to remind Luke of their existence.

"Lorelai!" April and Lorelai hugged each other in greeting. "You remember your cousin Jess, don't you?" Lorelai gestured towards Jess. April nodded and they simply, awkwardly shook hands. "Shall we have dinner?" Lorelai suggested and they all headed into the dining room in the kitchen.

**

Rory Gilmore spun around in front of the long mirror in her bedroom. She was wearing a sparkly blue dress and had some of her hair tied back into a half ponytail. "If only I had a girly roommate. Or a roommate at all." Rory wondered out loud. Unfortunately the gnawing feeling in her gut had not gone away since she accepted Cooper's suggestion to go out on a date. This could jeopardise everything and she didn't even mention it to Lorelai. Rory tried to push the guilt aside and attempt to enjoy a lovely evening, with her boss. Rory felt close to throwing up although she couldn't do that as she had already cleaned her teeth three times. There was finally a knock at the door. Rory took one last look, breathed in deeply and went to answer the door. Cooper was dressed in a simple suit and Rory closed the door behind her.

"You look nice." Cooper complimented her and Rory quickly thanked him. "I know this is awkward but let's try to have a lovely evening." Cooper tried to calm her but Rory was literally anxious. She finally relaxed when they reached the car as she could sit down. They drove through Hartford to an expensive looking Italian restaurant.

"Fancy." Rory commented while Cooper parked the car. Cooper went around to let Rory out of the car. Eventually they were seated at a table within the restaurant and glancing at the menus.

"So, tell me something about yourself." Cooper decided to start the conversation. Rory simply sighed.

"You probably know a lot about me from Logan." Rory concluded and Cooper agreed, so he decided to tell her about himself.

"I grew up in San Francisco and my family met with Logan's family at Christmas each year and they were both very close, obviously. I believe we went to your grandparents' Christmas parties a lot. Richard and Emily, right? We never saw you or your mother or heard of you guys. Anyways, I studied Journalism and Industrial Design at San Francisco State University, which was when I moved out to San Francisco." Cooper continued to relay his life story while Rory stirred the straw in her drink and smiled, trying desperately to be interested. Rory signalled for a waiter to come and take their orders. Cooper continued once the waiter was gone.

"My family were horrible to me and I was glad to finally leave. Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" Cooper suggested.

"I was born in Hartford and grew up in a tiny town that you've probably never heard of." Rory started.

"Stars Hollow right? Logan told me all about his trip there. Oh, sorry, continue." Cooper interrupted. Rory sighed and started to fiddle with a lock of her hair.

"Uh, I read a lot and I lived with my mom. She worked at the Independence Inn and now she owns and works at the Dragonfly Inn. I went to Chilton preparatory school, which isn't very far away from the Connecticut Daily News. I studied Journalism at Yale and was the editor of the Yale Daily News. I went on the Obama Campaign trail. After that, I worked a bit for an online magazine." Rory looked up in relief as a waiter finally brought their food. Cooper started to talk about journalism while they ate and Rory could only listen and smile. Cooper talked through the whole meal and Rory was relieved when it was over.

"I think you should take me home now." Rory announced and quickly got up to avoid seeing anyone else watch their disaster of a date. Rory walked quickly out of the restaurant and waited by the car while Cooper paid. Cooper drove Rory to her home.

"Well, that was a lovely evening." Cooper announced and Rory was shocked.

"Cooper, that was not 'lovely,' it was awkward and I don't think either of us enjoyed it. The food was wonderful. I don't think we should do this again." Rory announced and it was Cooper's turn to be shocked.

"Rory," Cooper started to plead as Rory started to get out of the expensive car.

"I'm sorry, Cooper. I don't think this will work. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Rory closed the door and ran up to her apartment. As Rory closed the door behind her, tears started to form at her eyes. Rory quickly wiped them away and got ready for bed, but not before sending a page to Angela and let her know that the date was terrible. Rory had also promised details for the next day.

**

Jess and April were in the kitchen, each quietly getting a glass of water when Jess noticed that Luke and Lorelai were discussing Rory upstairs. Jess started to sneak through the dark and sat on the staircase. April followed closely behind him and they both sat on the staircase, eavesdropping. Their voices carried through the house, especially when their door was open.

"Maybe we'll finally have a girl talk and talk to me about a boy she's seeing. I can't think of the last time we actually did something like that. I think it was at Weston's when she told me about Logan." Lorelai continued.

"What are you babbling about?" Luke asked. The volume of their voices started to decrease at this point and Jess started to walk towards the bottom of the stairs to hear them. It certainly wasn't his fault that their voices carried through the house and the door was presumably open.

"Rory's love life, or lack thereof. I mean she had a fling with another reporter when she was on the Obama Campaign Trail and she didn't tell me until a while after it was over. It was almost that she was guilty of not telling me everything that was going on. What if she had several flings with several male reporters? What about now? I saw her today at Paris' place and she could barely get anything out about this Cooper guy. What happens if the same thing happens again with this Cooper guy? I mean, he's her boss. Isn't dating your boss generally frowned upon? I don't know what's going on with her anymore. Suddenly, she's so secretive. She has an apartment and a job all the way in Hartford when she should be in New York. Yes, New York is further away than Hartford." Lorelai started to worry.

"That's not being secretive, that's called having a life. Ever since Rory started Yale, she's become very independent. I'm sure she still tells you everything that is going on but not in the same speed as when she lived here. Rory is living her own life and you need to live your own life as well." Luke tried to calm her but Lorelai was still anxious.

"Not necessarily, remember when Rory had her first kiss with Dean? I found out from Mrs. Kim and she never said a word about it. She needs to know that I'm still okay with a guy thing." Jess felt himself get slightly angry at the mention of Dean.

"I guess, but while we're done with Rory, what about Jess and April?" Lorelai continued in her attempt to change the conversation. Luke gave her a strange look.

"First of all, they are first cousins and I'm pretty sure that is incestuous. Second of all, Jess is 27 and April is 19 and that is a bad picture on its own." Luke explained and Lorelai laughed at his misinterpretation of her question.

"I meant what about Jess and April's separate personal lives. Are they seeing anyone? Would they tell you?" Lorelai rephrased her initial question. In the dark on the staircase, Jess noticed April colour slightly at the mention of her seeing anyone. Jess playfully hit her arm and smiled at her.

"Probably, if I asked. I know that Jess has the occasional fling here and there. I have no idea about April though. We could find out tomorrow morning if you wanted." Luke suggested.

"Leave that up to me. Rory, April and I can all have a girl talk! Oh, won't that be fun? Chances are, with a girl talk, you won't find out anything about who they're seeing. You and Jess can go out drinking and watching sports or something at 'Casey's'. We should probably go to sleep." Lorelai announced and all was quiet. Jess and April sneaked back downstairs into Rory's old room.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter Eleven! The next chapter will most likely be Paris and Doyle's wedding! It's the big day at last. Please review. **


	12. Doyle's and Paris' Wedding Day

**Chapter Twelve – Doyle and Paris' Wedding Day**

**A/N: First of all, I'm very sorry that this took so long. I did write this one a while ago but I wasn't happy with it so I erased it. Ever since, I've had a bit of Writer's Block. I decided to watch "I Can't Get Started" with Sookie's wedding for ideas and that helped. This was also the first time that I noticed the 'Sookie and Jackson pillows'. Second of all, thank you for your reviews and suggestions as well as adding this to your Alerts (for those of you who did). Third of all, as the title suggests, this is Paris and Doyle's wedding. Fourth of all, I have written the final chapter for this story and there is really only one thing to figure out. I can't decide whether Luke and Lorelai should have a boy or girl. Please review with your suggestion. I don't think I'm spoiling a secret because if you've read this far then you should know that Lorelai is pregnant. So, boy or girl? Fifth, I'm sorry for writing such a long note. **

Rory Gilmore swung open the front door of her old house, calling out her mother's name. Rory entered the lounge room to find Jess Mariano and April Nardini sitting on the couch. They both turned towards Rory with surprised expressions.

"Hi Rory." April finally said and stood up to hug her new step-sister. Rory quickly hugged her back before turning to face Jess, who simply nodded at her.

"Have either of you seen my mom? I need to talk to her." Rory asked and April told her that Lorelai was at the Inn and Rory quickly started to leave after thanking her. As soon as Rory got to the front door, she felt someone pull her back. Rory turned to see Jess facing her and stopping her from leaving.

"Hi Rory. I'm sorry about that. What's going on?" Jess enquired.

"I went out with that Cooper guy and the date was horrible and he was worse than I thought he would be. It was so boring." Rory complained and noticed that Jess started to smile a small smile. Rory playfully hit him. "Please don't stop yourself laughing at me on my account." Jess started to grin at her and Rory, frustrated, turned and left the house to go to the Dragonfly Inn.

Lorelai handed a key to a pair of Doyle's relatives once they had arrived at the Dragonfly Inn. As soon as she saw her daughter arrive, Lorelai left her post to greet Rory in a gripping hug.

"Hi Mom," Rory squeaked out to the best of her ability although she had trouble breathing.

"Oh Rory dear, I'm so glad that you're here. It's absolute chaos." Lorelai finally let her go and continued her tale. "Paris and Doyle haven't seen each other in a week and Paris and her mother continue to argue about whether her wedding should be Jewish or traditionally Christian. Apparently the bride and groom don't see each other for the week before the wedding to build up the excitement and anticipation for the big day." Lorelai told her and sighed in relief.

"So, where is everyone now?" Rory enquired and Lorelai showed her where everyone was setting up for the Jewish wedding. The Chuppah from Lorelai's house was set up and the Rabbi was awaiting to start the ceremony. Several of Paris' and Doyle's relatives were standing around, also waiting. Rory could easily pick out Doyle's relatives and realised that Paris had been right when she told her that Doyle was the tallest of them all. "So what's the verdict on the type of wedding?" Rory asked and her mother simply shrugged at her. It was only then that she realised that she should've helped more with planning this wedding. Lorelai went back to the front desk while Rory went in search of Paris Gellar's mother.

Rory eventually found her instructing workers to rearrange the chairs for the wedding. This made Rory reminisce about her grandmother instructing similar tasks to her multitude of servers.

"Excuse me, Mrs Gellar, may I speak with you for a moment." Rory requested.

"No, that's fine! Just forget it." Mrs Gellar sighed in irritation and finally turned towards Rory, "yes, hello, how may I help you?"

"Well, I'm Rory Gilmore and I was actually planning this wedding and I see that you have changed everything. The only thing I see the same is the same caterer and flowers. What happened?" Rory demanded to know.

"I'm sorry and I know that I should've clarified this with you months ago. However, I thought you were planning a Jewish wedding and Paris told me only a couple of weeks that you were actually planning a Christian wedding instead. I can't believe you would be so insensitive as to completely ignore your best friend's ethnic background as a Jew." Mrs Gellar told her, quite frankly. Rory's mouth dropped in shock at this accusation knowing that Paris' parents hadn't been a part of her life for a long time. "I'm sorry but I had to change it to a Jewish wedding. It was lucky that your mother had a Chuppah in her yard. I can reimburse you for your financial losses for my last-minute cancellations." Mrs Gellar turned back to her servers and Rory walked away shocked and angry.

Paris Gellar stood in front of the full-length mirror in her wedding dress and looked at herself as she turned around. She hadn't had a chance to tell Rory that the wedding had completely changed and her mother made sure that she wasn't able to leave the room. At that, Rory finally entered the room.

"Hey there. Wow, Paris, you look beautiful." Rory gushed and Paris turned towards her best friend.

"Thank you. Look, I'm sorry that I haven't had a chance to call you for a while. My Mom suddenly came back and insisted that I have a Jewish wedding, assuming you were planning one. I would've told you earlier but I haven't really had any contact with the outside world for a while." Paris rambled and Rory assured her that it was all fine. Paris picked up a program for Rory and explained all the different parts of a Jewish wedding. Mrs Gellar entered the room and told her that it was time to receive their guests. Paris quickly smiled at Rory before she followed her mother out and sat on a chair. Doyle was seated elsewhere and had his relatives sitting and toasting him. Rory glanced down and saw that this was the _Kabbalat Panim _when the bride and groom greeted their guests separately. Rory saw Lorelai and quickly signalled for her to come over. Lorelai looked over at the program of the wedding that Rory was holding.

"So the groom is the 'Chatan' and the bride is the 'Kallah.'" Lorelai read out loud. At that, Mrs Gellar and Mrs MacMaster broke a plate together. Doyle placed a veil to disguise Paris and each were led to the Chuppah by their parents for the wedding ceremony.

"Jess, where are we going?" April complained as she had let Jess drag her all over Stars Hollow that day. Jess hadn't given her any hints and finally led her to his spot on the bridge.

"Alright, we're here. You can stop complaining now." Jess announced as he sat down. April looked around her, feeling confused.

"Why are we here?" April asked as she sat down. Jess pointed to a spot, further down the bridge and told her about when Luke pushed him in the lake. April laughed at this.

"It's got some good memories here and I like it. It's quiet and it's away from all the craziness of Stars Hollow. So, what are you doing with your life?" Jess enquired.

"I'm studying a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering." April announced excitedly until she noticed Jess giving her an oh-my-god type of look. "What?" April questioned forcefully and Jess finally felt embarrassed.

"Nothing. Do you enjoy it there?" Jess asked and April nodded. "Well, that's the most important part." April took this as an invitation to talk about Biological Engineering.

"It involves a lot of genetics, organic chemistry, computer science and programming. Well, what do you do? Are you still at that publishing house where we met?" April enquired and Jess nodded. "So did you study English at university or something?" At this, Jess started to shift in his seat.

"I didn't go to university. I didn't even finish high school but I've turned out just fine. I never thought that I would find my place in the world in Philadelphia. Some things take a while to sink in." Jess explained and April seemed to understand straight away.

"So, what about Rory? Did you date her?" April asked.

"Um, in High School and then I sort of took off." Jess explained.

"Didn't you find it weird to date your step-cousin-to-be?"

"Lorelai and Luke weren't dating at the time so it was great. It's a little weird now."

"Do you still like her now?" April continued to interrogate Jess, who still felt uncomfortable thinking back to his 'James Dean Teenage Years.'

"It doesn't matter. We're step-cousins and it would be weird."

"Do you think it's weird? Do both of you think that or just one of you and the other is just using the same word to make it more comfortable to talk about?" Jess sighed and thought about what to tell her. She certainly was smart and Jess knew that it was Rory who thought it was all too weird. He didn't mind so long as he didn't overthink it.

"She does." Jess finally admitted. April's face suddenly lit up as she thought of an idea.

"You know what you should do? You should totally go to her friend's wedding reception this evening!" April announced excitedly and Jess shook his head.

"I've crashed enough weddings for Rory. It's probably better to break the habit." Jess admitted and April shook her head in disbelief at this.

"How many weddings have you crashed for Rory?" April enquired and Jess told her what had happened long ago at Sookie and Jackson's wedding.

The wedding finally ended and Lorelai was relieved that it was over. Neither Rory nor Lorelai knew how many small ceremonies that were involved in Jewish weddings.

"Wow, there was the rings and the marriage certificate and the blessings. At least it's time for dancing and food." Lorelai told her daughter as the servers cleared everything away and cleaned dishes. Lorelai went into the kitchen to check on the food for the Festive Meal. Sookie assured her that everything was fine and so Lorelai left to place names on tables using the seating chart. Rory headed over to congratulate Paris and Doyle, feeling a little amazed that they had stayed together for so long.

"I'm sorry again that you went to all that effort to plan a wedding and it was all changed without telling you. Blame my mother." Paris apologised again but Rory assured her that she should relax and it was all over. Lorelai opened the double doors that revealed the dining room for the reception. Rory sat on a chair near Lorelai, feeling exhausted.

"Hey, Mom?" Rory caught her mother's attention.

"Yeah?" She asked as she gestured people to their tables.

"Please make sure that I never plan any more weddings ever again. I don't know how you do it. It's exhausting!" Rory exclaimed and Lorelai giggled at this.

"It's not so bad." Lorelai assured her and they went to their tables.

_A couple of hours later. _

Lorelai Gilmore took to the microphone to announce the commencement of dancing.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please invite Paris and Doyle MacMaster to the dance floor?" The sound of applause filled the room as Doyle led Paris to the dance floor. A slower song began to play as they started to slowly dance. Lorelai then invited others to join in the dancing. Several couples around the room stood and went to the dance floor and started to dance. Rory, feeling a little sad, went outside in search of fresh air. The music still echoed outside but was softer. Rory spotted a figure further ahead, hiding in the dark. Rory approached slowly, unsure of who she would find. At that, Rory felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to find Lorelai standing before her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lorelai asked in a concerned manner.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just came out for some fresh air." Rory assured her and Lorelai nodded.

"Okay, I'll leave you two out here." Lorelai turned and started to head back inside.

"Two?" Rory asked out loud. She heard someone echo her and turned to see Jess coming towards her. "Jess? What are you doing here?" Rory asked.

"Hello to you too. I've come to see you." Jess smirked and Rory smiled back. "Why? Are you getting sick of me?"

"Actually, yes." Rory joked and quickly glanced back at Lorelai, who had paused at the front door. Lorelai tried to veil her worried expression with a small smile and headed back to the party.

"Nice music." Jess commented as he and Rory stood, facing each other, awkwardly. "So, I know that this is lame, but…" Jess started to say but Rory understood as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Jess took her waist and the held hands. One step back. One step forward. Rory smiled as they started to dance. "This is something that I don't want you to get used to." Rory dropped Jess' hand and moved it to join her other arm around his neck. Jess held Rory more closely as they continued to dance.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter Twelve and don't forget to opt for a boy or girl for Luke and Lorelai; otherwise I will have to flip a coin!**

**Bibliography for Jewish Wedding info is on my profile (I've been at school too long! Haha.) as well as more information about Biological Engineering at MIT. **


	13. Bonding & Cooper's Cowardice

Chapter Thirteen – Bonding and Cooper's Cowardice

**A/N: For the record, I chose a Jewish wedding because Paris' parents are Jewish. Also, thank you to Summer2391 for the idea of Rory thinking she's scaring the Huntzbergers off. Also, thank you to all that reviewed and added this to their alerts and favourites. Please opt for a boy or a girl for Luke and Lorelai. I have been known for not liking my chances with flipping a coin. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions (love that name) and the WB do. I do own Cooper and Angela and I think that's all the characters I made up…**

Life went back to normal after the wedding day. Lorelai's baby was growing and Rory went back to work at the Connecticut Daily News. Jess had gone back home to Philadelphia and April headed to MIT after making a pit stop in New Mexico to visit her mother. Paris and Doyle had left for their honeymoon.

Rory Gilmore arrived at the Connecticut Daily News building and started to fear the potential awkwardness between her and Cooper. She decided that it was best to simply walk in and let the day unravel. As Rory went up the elevator and walked to her desk, she simply couldn't get that moment with Jess at the wedding out of her head. She and Jess had danced and Rory couldn't believe that he could do anything like it. She still remembered the early love triangle days with her, Jess and Dean. Rory wondered how Dean was and where he was but soon her thoughts went back to Jess. She knew exactly where Jess was. Rory didn't realise that she was smiling until Angela pointed it out.

"What's going on with you? I suppose the wedding was good?" Angela enquired, thirsty for details.

"It was a great wedding. I mean Paris and Doyle have really stuck through everything together. They met at Yale, you know. I'm so happy for them." Rory gushed but Angela could see that this was not why she was floating on Cloud 9. "And I guess that Jess dropped by." Rory continued. Angela beamed at this.

"Ooh, details please!" Angela begged and Rory relayed the details of him showing up at the wedding unexpectedly and dancing. Rory and Angela both squealed at this.

"I see you ladies are working hard." A voice sounded behind them. Rory and Angela looked up to see a stern Cooper watching them. Rory and Angela instantly turned back to work. Rory sighed loudly once he had left.

"I completely forgot about him. Is that bad?" Rory enquired.

"He's your boss, you're meant to forget all about him on weekends." Angela assured her and Rory giggled nervously.

Lorelai sat up in bed drinking a cup of decaffeinated coffee that Luke had made her and was flipping through a _Vogue _magazine. Lorelai quickly threw the magazine aside and grabbed the phone from the bedside table. She quickly dialled Luke's Diner's number.

Luke: Luke's

Lorelai: Hi, it's me

Luke: Pen and paper are poised. Shoot.

Lorelai: Broccoli, Apple tarts, turnips, white chocolate, grapefruit, 3 bananas, peace pie, lettuce and I think that's it.

Luke: You do realise that that sounds absolutely disgusting. Lorelai, I love that this pregnancy has made you want to eat lots of healthy food, except for the white chocolate, but even I can't handle this.

Lorelai: It's okay; it's not for you. It's for Sid or Nancy inside me. My mother is coming over today. I don't think she's letting me drive out to Hartford anymore. You do know that you have to drive me when I go into labour, right? I have to set up another appointment for another ultrasound.

Luke: I hope you know that Kirk overheard this and is also disturbed. Are you going into work today?

Lorelai: No.

Luke: Oh, right, your mother is dropping by. April is also dropping by and she wants to come see you.

Lorelai: It's not because my feet are slowly, but surely, disappearing, is it?

Luke: No.

Lorelai: My stomach is expanding so much that it may explode and she wants a front row seat to the show?

Luke: _Lorelai! _

Lorelai: I'm sorry. I'm really really really really sorry.

Luke: Lorelai.

Lorelai: I'm so sorry that I have changed my mind on all that disgusting food. Just bring an apple by when you bring April around.

Luke: Okay, I'll see you this evening with April. I love you.

Lorelai: I love you too.

Lorelai hung up the phone and snuggled back down under the warm doona covers. Lorelai remembered that she was still hungry and dragged her expanding body downstairs to the kitchen. Lorelai opened the fridge and saw that it was completely empty. She decided to call Sookie to bring food over for her. At that, there was a knock on the door and Lorelai went to open the door. Emily Gilmore stood on the other side of the door and Lorelai, reluctantly, allowed her inside the house.

"Hello Lorelai. How are you feeling today? My, you are growing bigger and bigger every time I see you." Emily commented and started to look around at the lounge room.

"Hello Mom. I'm feeling nauseous and Sookie is bringing food over soon." Lorelai started to stroke her growing stomach. It was a habit that she had gotten into recently and remembered doing the same when she was 16. "Well, what are we doing today?" Lorelai asked in an attempt to be excited.

Rory continued typing her story and decided that she was in need of a cup of coffee. Rory proposed a cup of coffee to Angela, who politely declined. Rory quickly saved her work and made a bee line towards the kitchen. A full pot of strong coffee was awaiting her and Rory quickly filled her mug up with the coffee. Rory started to head back to her desk and saw that Cooper's office door was open ajar. She decided that this may be a good time to talk to Cooper about the awkwardness. However, a familiar figure caught her eye. Logan sat on the other side of Cooper's desk. Cooper didn't seem to be paying attention to his surroundings. Rory pressed her ear against the dark wooden door.

"I can't take over the newspaper again. I've already left. Everyone thinks I'm in San Francisco, which is where I should be. You shouldn't have called me back, Cooper." Logan sighed loudly at this.

"I can't do this anymore." Cooper announced, which shocked Rory.

"Run the newspaper? Oh, you've done it before. I cannot and will not take over this newspaper again. If you really want to leave, then find someone else outside of the Huntzberger family."

"Really, Mr Huntzberger Heir." Cooper spat.

"Listen, will you please explain to me why you're leaving." Logan pleaded. It was Cooper's turn to sigh loudly.

"It was a bad date, okay. It's awkward now here at the newspaper. I now see why you told me not to date anyone I employ." Logan coughed at this. "Okay, I know you hired her. You hired everyone here but you're not working here. I am! I took over here when you didn't want to work here. You hired Rory Gilmore because you still loved her. You're such a hypocrite. When it was awkward for you, you came to me and I took over this newspaper." Cooper rectified and reminded Logan, who refused to believe his hypocrisy. Rory was shocked at the reason that Logan had hired her for.

"That's different. We have a past. You have a crappy date and you just want to leave. It doesn't work like that. I have to go back to San Francisco." Logan stood up and stormed out of the office. He turned back, halfway down the hall and looked at everyone. "Yes, I'm back! I'm going back to San Francisco and I was only here because your boss is a coward! Rory, I'm so sorry." Logan shouted to the staff of the Connecticut Daily News. Rory, slowly turned back and went to her desk. Angela saw the panicked expression on Rory's face and quickly rushed over to comfort her. Rory quickly dragged Angela back to the kitchen and relayed the conversation that she overheard.

"That sounds horrible. So, is Cooper thinking of leaving?" Angela asked and Rory shrugged.

"Am I scaring all the Huntzbergers off? Maybe I should call Honor. No, I'll just scare her off too." Rory decided that she had no other choice and quickly pulled her phone out to call her mother.

Lorelai: Hello?

Rory: Hey Mom. What do you do after a bad date with your boss and he's thinking of leaving and you're scaring off the wrong family to scare off?

Lorelai: Rory, sweetie, I'm going to need more.

Rory: I went on a bad date with Cooper and now it's so awkward at the Connecticut Daily News and now he's thinking of leaving. I'm scaring off the Huntzbergers! I'll never get a job at The New York Times now!

Lorelai: First of all, calm down.

Rory: Should I quit? This is all about me after all.

Lorelai: No, you shouldn't quit and who said it was all about you.

Rory: I overheard a conversation between Logan and Cooper and Cooper wanted to leave the paper but Logan refused to take it back and there was all this stuff that Logan hired me to get me back and obviously that didn't work.

Lorelai: Listen, just keep going about your business. So, get back to your desk and keep working. I have to get back to your grandmother now.

Rory: Grandma's there? Why?

Lorelai: Yes, she's cleaning out your room because we'll have to get a cot at some point. I know, that I'm not due for months but you can't leave anything to chance with Emily Gilmore. Well, have a lovely day and I'll see you on Friday night!

Rory: Yes you will. Say 'hi' to Grandma for me please.

Lorelai: Will do.

Rory hung up the phone and she and Angela went back to their desks.

"That was Rory on the phone. She says Hello." Lorelai told her mother and sat back down on Rory's old bed. It was so empty although Jess and April had obviously made themselves at home in Rory's Old Room.

"Oh, well. Would you like to repaint this room? Do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?" Emily enquired as she continued tidying up.

"Uh, well, we'll find out at the next ultrasound. Hey, Mom, do you want to have some tea or coffee?" Lorelai offered and Emily politely asked for a cup of coffee, insisting that she make it. Lorelai went out to her lounge room to pick out a movie instead.

"Lorelai! Where are you going?" Emily called out as she made decaf coffee for her daughter. Lorelai returned holding two videos.

"_Sabrina _or _Breakfast at Tiffany's?_" Lorelai offered.

"You want to watch a movie?" Emily asked and Lorelai confirmed this.

"I thought we could watch it together." Lorelai suggested and Emily seemed happy at this bonding opportunity. "I pulled out two Audrey Hepburn movies because I don't know if you would like _The Shining._ There is always _Casablanca_ too which is my absolute favourite."

"I've never seen _Sabrina._ How about we watch that?" Emily suggested.

"Really? Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden all in one neat package." Lorelai joked as she went to set up the movie.

Soon, Emily brought the coffee as the movie started.

Rory looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:30pm. She typed the last sentence of her article and sent it to the printer. The layout process began for the following day's newspaper. Rory felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Cooper looking at her.

"Hey Cooper, I've been meaning to talk to you all day." Rory started to turn back to the layout.

"I need to talk to you now." Rory knew she had no choice but to follow Cooper into his office. "Please, have a seat." Cooper gestured towards the same chair facing his desk that Logan had sat in hours before.

"So, what's this about? I'm sorry that things are so awkward but I'm sure it will pass with time." Rory suggested as Cooper sat in his own chair.

"You're a great journalist and a real asset to the CDN. Your advice is actually starting to make me regret my decision. I'm sorry to do this to you." Cooper handed Rory a thin white piece of paper. "You're fired. You have until 5:30 to pack up, say 'goodbye' to Angela and leave. I'm very sorry to do this." Cooper tried to look calm although he was shaking. Rory was shocked that she was being fired. She had to keep herself together and not commit another felony.

"Why?" Rory asked although she knew exactly why.

"Well, I'm sorry but I like to get rid of problems instead of hoping that they will fix themselves." Cooper admitted.

"I'm a problem? What happened to being an asset 2 minutes ago?" Rory screamed at him. "You're absolutely crazy! You have flipped your lid! Charles Manson is a bunny next to you!" At this, Rory stormed out of her office into a sea of curious, eavesdropping journalists. A box was placed on Rory's desk and Rory quickly shoved everything in before leaving in a huff.

"Well, Lorelai, that was a lovely movie and a wonderful idea. I must get home now." Emily started to gather her belongings.

"I'm glad that you had fun. I had fun as well. It was a good day today. I'll let you know how that ultrasound goes and we'll be picking out colours before you know it." Lorelai told her and said goodbye to her mother. Once Emily had left and Lorelai had started to clear away the coffee cups, Luke returned home.

"Hello, I had a great day with my mother. The bedroom has been cleaned up and my mother and I watched _Sabrina _together without bickering. How was the diner?" Lorelai gushed and couldn't remember the last time she was so happy spending time with Emily Gilmore. She tried to ignore that gnawing feeling that something bad would happen with this bonding time.

"Oh, my day was fairly average. People came in and I served them food. I have early deliveries tomorrow morning so I'll be up extra early." Luke told her and they both settled on the couch, looking at the blank screen.

"_Casablanca_? I'm still not sick of movies." Lorelai suggested.

"Sure." Luke agreed and got up to put in the video.

**A/N: Okay, there's some drama and cowardice for you. I didn't really plan for Cooper to fire Rory. I hope you enjoyed Chapter Thirteen and please please please opt for a boy or girl for Lorelai and Luke. **


	14. Another Ultrasound & a Plane Ticket

Chapter Fourteen – Another Ultrasound & a Plane Ticket

**A/N: This chapter seems to be more dialogue and a little less description so it could be better but I decided to keep the story going and I'm sure people want to know what happens next now that Rory is incomeless. I'm going to try to get into the habit of putting in disclaimers into stories. The other option is doing what . does which is put an official disclaimer on my profile if all else fails. **

**I hope you enjoy Chapter 14 and please vote for a boy or a girl for Luke and Lorelai. I haven't got a majority and it is currently equal at the moment. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls but if I did, Dean and Christopher sure wouldn't be there and it would've ended happier.

Rory Gilmore drove all the way to Stars Hollow in search of a large amount of sympathy from her Mom and Luke. As she pulled into the driveway of her childhood home, Rory wiped away the tears from her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had been fired. She had never been fired before and it was all for the wrong reasons. Rory dragged herself out of her car and up to the front door. Rory let herself in and found her mother and Luke on the couch, watching _Casablanca._

"Hey Rory. What's wrong?" Lorelai quickly stopped her favourite movie and went over to her grown up daughter and gave her a big hug. Rory started to weep in her mother's comforting arms.

"I was fired today. How's your day been?" Rory announced in a failed joking manner.

"I'll make you chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast tomorrow." Luke announced in an effort to cheer up Rory in his special way. Rory giggled at this a little and Lorelai led her to the couch.

"I'm sorry to just barge in here. I needed to crash someplace sympathetic." Rory apologised and assured her that there was no need to apologise.

"You can crash here as much as you want. Lane always did." Lorelai continued to comfort her and restarted the movie to distract Rory.

"Can we please watch _The Odd Couple_? I'd like to watch something really funny." Rory suggested and Luke quickly changed the movies. Luke sat on the ground, in front of the old couch, allowing Lorelai and Rory plenty of comforting space.

"Mom?" Rory said to catch her attention.

"Yes?" Lorelai felt something bad coming at this.

"I need a favour and it's a little expensive." Rory started and believed that it was best to slowly ask for this favour.

"Anything for you." Lorelai braced herself.

"I need a plane ticket to San Francisco. Please? I officially have no income and my rent is due at the end of the week and I can't pay the money back to Grandma and Grandma for Yale anymore." Rory announced.

"I'll pay your rent for you. The Dragonfly is doing great and I can spare a few hundred dollars. Why do you have to go to San Francisco though?" Lorelai enquired.

"Logan's there. I was thinking that maybe he can help me. I don't want to risk running out of petrol driving there. It's also on the other side of the country." Rory explained and Lorelai sighed.

"Well, what about Jess?" Lorelai questioned.

"He's not exactly super-rich and I suppose it would be nice to see him. Ok, I'll make a pit stop in Philadelphia." Rory decided.

"Well, can I ask you a favour in return then?" Lorelai asked her daughter and Rory assured that she would do anything. "Will you please come to my ultrasound tomorrow? I will pay your rent and get you a plane ticket but that's all I ask. I also ask that you take it a little easy." Lorelai offered and Rory agreed.

"Do you think that Grandma will want to come again?" Rory asked and Lorelai sighed.

"She has certainly been enjoying this 'my daughter is pregnant' thing now that I'm all grown up and married." Lorelai joked.

"I think she would like to come. Should we call her? Does she need to know that I got fired?" Rory suggested as she got up to get the phone.

"Uh, I don't know if she really needs to know. Maybe not right now though. You can call her about the ultrasound though." Lorelai told her and Rory quickly dialled a number she knew so well.

Emily: Hello?

Rory: Hi Grandma, it's me, Rory.

Emily: Well, hello there Rory. Is something wrong? How's your mother? Do you like living in Hartford? How's your job at the CDN? We've been reading all your articles. They're simply wonderful.

Rory: Uh, everything's great, Grandma. Hartford and the CDN are all great. Just great. I'm actually at my Mom's house now and she is having an ultrasound tomorrow. Actually, she wanted to know whether you would like to come. Would you?

Emily: I'd love to. What time is it? Are you sure that you can get away from work?

Rory: I don't think it's a problem if I don't go into work tomorrow. I don't know what time it is. Let me check with Mom... It's at 2:00pm and it's the same clinic from before.

Emily: Well that sounds wonderful. I'll see you both then.

Rory: Okay, goodbye.

Emily: Goodbye.

"She's coming." Rory announced as she hung up the phone and took her place next to her mother. They continued to watch _The Odd Couple_ until it finished. Rory decided to go to bed early for once in her life as she had had an exhausting day.

Rory Gilmore awoke the next morning to the sound of pots crashing in the kitchen, just outside her bedroom door. She remembered that Luke was making chocolate chip pancakes at home and forcing Caesar to open the Diner, just for her. The shock of losing her job was starting to hit as she remembered the small box of possessions and decorations that she had kept on her desk, which were now in the back of her car. Rory rolled over and saw that her clock read 7:00am. It was a long time until Mom's ultrasound. She wondered if it was best to tell Grandma now that they had a plan in order. She would go to Logan and tell him to sort out his stupid cousin. Logan would know what to do, right? This is the man who got kicked out of so many Catholic schools that he was in line for a trophy. At that moment, Lorelai quickly peeped through the door to tell her not to worry as she dropped all the pots and pans and ruined the pancakes so they would have to go out to Luke's Diner.

"I don't want to go to Luke's. Everyone in this Hamlet town knows that I've been fired and I'm a loser." Rory complained and put a pillow over her head. Lorelai came in and closed the door behind her before sitting on the end of Rory's bed.

"I'm refusing to let you wallow in here and we weren't going to bring you your pancakes in bed. No one else knows and they won't know ever and soon you'll be the Editor of The New York Times. I promise that this town will be singing your praises. No one needs to know." Lorelai promised her as she started to drag her daughter out of bed. "As soon as you get coffee, you'll be your happy Rory Gilmore self." Rory pushed her mother out of the room so she could get dressed.

The bell chimed to announce the arrival of customers to Luke's Diner. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore entered Luke's Diner and immediately sat down at their usual red table. Luke came over holding a pad of paper and a pen.

"Good morning Lorelai. How are you feeling Rory?" Luke greeted and Lorelai quickly shushed him. Lorelai gestured for him to lean down so she could whisper something to him. Lorelai told Luke to act as if nothing was wrong and Rory has a party hangover which was why she needed pancakes. Luke went back and got them both their coffees.

"So how are you really?" Lorelai asked despite what she told Luke.

"I'm the happiest I can be in the circumstances. You know, you're getting really big. We should start calling you Fat Albert." Rory teased her mother. Neither of them knew whether it was to cheer Rory up or simply to tease Lorelai. Luke brought over their coffees as Babette and Miss Patty entered the diner.

"Lorelai dear! I hear you're going to have another ultrasound today! Are you going to find out whether it's a boy or a girl?" Miss Patty asked and Luke decided to interrupt.

"No, we're doing this traditionally. We won't find out until Sid or Nancy is born." Luke announced and Lorelai and Rory were equally shocked.

"What?" They cried in unison and both stared at Luke. Everyone else in the diner did the same.

"Well, if it's good enough for Jackson, why not? I'm also coming to make sure that you don't do that." Luke announced.

"Cool Hand Luke, you sure are full of surprises this morning. My mother is coming to the ultrasound so I don't think you'd want to come. Is there anything else you're not telling us?" Lorelai asked and Luke went back to the kitchen to collect their food from Caesar. Soon enough, the diner was a bundle of noise once again. Lorelai turned her attention to Rory, once Luke brought over their pancakes.

"What are your plans for today?" Lorelai enquired as she sipped her coffee.

"Well, I'm going to go to the bookstore and browse around. I may go to Weston's for some pie and then I may read one of the few books that I left behind in my room. Oh, I should also drop in on Lane and the boys. What about you?" Rory explained.

"I'm going to go to The Dragonfly after this and I'll meet you at home at 1:30 so we can go to the clinic in Hartford. Do you want to pick up a few things at your apartment?" Lorelai suggested and Rory agreed that it would be a good idea to collect more books and clothes. Lorelai and Rory ate their pancakes in happiness and the extra chocolate chips did wonders to Rory's mood. She refused to look in the Jobs guide of the newspapers.

_1pm – The Crapshack. _

Rory let herself into her house and placed her jacket on the coat rack. She turned to see the latest edition of the _Connecticut Daily News_ on the small table next to the coats. Rory picked it up and saw that the article that she was working on had not been printed. Rory decided to read Angela's story and realised that she should've talked to her before leaving the place in a rage. Rory dialled Angela's cell number after she finished reading the article.

Angela: Hello?

Rory: Hey Angie, it's me, Trish.

Angela: Rory? How are you doing? I'm so sorry for what happened.

Rory: What do you know of me being fired?

Angela: Well, all of us curious journalists were outside the door and we heard you yelling. No one else knows about the disaster date, I promise.

Rory: Well, I read your article and it was really good.

Angela: How much did you read?

Rory: The whole article.

Angela: How much of the paper did you read? There's a sombre notice about your being sacked.

Rory: What? Oh my god, there is.

Angela: I'm so sorry. I tried to stop Cooper from printing it but he's much angrier now. Working here is scary. There's a rumour that he victimises people and no one knows who he's going to get next.

Rory: That's a little dramatic, isn't it?

Angela: Yes it is. Listen, I have to go and please call me if you need to talk.

Rory: Thanks, I will. Bye.

Angela: Bye.

Rory threw down the paper in frustration as her mother entered the kitchen.

"Hey, how has your day been so far?" Lorelai enquired.

"How many people subscribed to the CDN ever since I started working there?" Rory enquired and Lorelai confessed that almost everyone had due to her being a proud parent. "Well, I think they're going to know." Rory pointed out the section of the newspaper that Angela referred to earlier.

_One of our journalists, Rory Gilmore, had to leave the Connecticut Daily News due to personal issues. We will miss her input here at the paper and I'm sorry to see her leave. _

_-Cooper Huntzberger_

"Are they allowed to do that?" Lorelai demanded as she angrily threw down the newspaper onto the table.

"I don't know." Rory quietly mumbled. "We should probably go. Listen, don't worry about it. You shouldn't be stressed right now. Here, have some chocolate." Rory took out a block of chocolate for the drive to Hartford and soon they left.

Emily Gilmore was sitting on a chair in the waiting room. When Lorelai and Rory finally entered the clinic, she stood up and rushed over to Lorelai's side.

"Hello there. How are you both?" Emily greeted them.

"Hey Mom, we're just going to go let the receptionist know that we're here." Lorelai headed over to the receptionist's desk while Emily took Rory aside by the arm.

"How are you holding up? Is it okay for you to be in Hartford?" Emily questioned and Rory's face went blank until she realised that Emily had probably also read The Connecticut Daily News. Rory eventually sighed.

"You know? You know that I am currently unemployed? Did you also read it in the newspaper?" Rory questioned, feeling a little angry.

"Why did you leave? I thought you were happy there." Emily continued her interrogation. A voice behind them called 'Lorelai Gilmore' and Lorelai dragged her mother and daughter into the ultrasound technician's room. Lorelai quickly lay down on the bed and the technician left quickly to get some extra gel.

"I got fired and that's why I left." Rory announced and Emily was shocked.

"How could you let this happen?" Emily shot at Lorelai.

"How did _I _let this happen? Since when did this become my fault?" Lorelai questioned.

"Hey, Mom didn't do anything. We have a plan and we are all here to support Mom right now so please let's focus on that. Now, please apologise and make up." Rory intervened and smiled at her mother and grandmother as they apologised. The technician arrived and Luke quickly entered the room closely behind.

"Luke, what are you doing here?" Emily questioned.

"I'm here to make sure we don't find out the sex." Luke took up a chair besides Rory and Emily.

"Well, is everyone here?" The technician asked and Lorelai confirmed that this was the case. The technician poured the cold blue gel on Lorelai's growing stomach and with the wand; they could see Luke and Lorelai's baby. Lorelai squirmed a little at the coldness of the gel.

"Everything seems to be fine and it looks like a healthy baby. Are you sure you wouldn't like to know the sex?" The technician offered and there was a chorus of controversial answers. Luke seemed to be the only one against knowing whether this baby would be a boy or a girl. The receptionist opened the door and told them that someone else was waiting for their appointment. Lorelai's stomach was cleaned and everyone left the room. Once outside, Emily turned to Luke and Lorelai.

"I'm very happy for you both and I look forward to meeting this child that you are bringing into the world." Emily told them and Lorelai started to smile.

"Thank you Mom." Lorelai said with a tear pricking at her eye.

"Should we go have some coffee together?" Rory offered but Emily claimed on having somewhere to be. They all then drove back to Stars Hollow.

Later that evening, Lorelai sat at the table holding a thin envelope and called for her daughter. Rory appeared out of her room and sat down at the table, across from Lorelai.

"This is for you." Lorelai slid the paper across the table towards Rory. Rory picked it up carefully and opened it.

"A plane ticket to San Francisco." Rory read out loud. "Thank you so much for this. I'm so sorry about all this." Rory apologised and Lorelai held up her hand.

"It's not necessary. You never told me about your day though." Lorelai said.

"Lane and the boys weren't home. The bookstore made me depressed because I couldn't buy any but the pie at Weston's was great." Rory said. "Wait, how am I getting to Philadelphia?"

"Luke filled up your car with petrol and put extra money in for petrol or accommodation or books or whatever you'll need." Lorelai told her. "It's all going to be okay." Rory smiled at this.

"_The Shining_?" Rory suggested.

"Absolutely." Lorelai agreed and they both went to the lounge room.

**A/N: Please press the Pretty Review Button. **


	15. A Pit Stop To Philadelphia

Chapter Fifteen – A Pit Stop to Philadelphia

**A/N: I want to go to New York and Philadelphia. I just thought that I would announce it there. I've never been there and it sounds like fun. Anyway, I'm not being too specific on things in Philly because I haven't been there. I hope everyone is happy with how this chapter turns out. I am and had fun writing the Philly scenes with Rory and Jess. Lorelai also doesn't quite know what to do with herself here. Also, I know I just published chapter fourteen but I wrote this over two evenings and figured I'd publish it just because it's done. **

Rory had been given access to her own car to drive to Philadelphia. She had only a few days to make this trip, talk to Jess and get back in time for her plane to San Francisco. She didn't know whether she would sue Cooper or just get another job. She did know that she had to talk to Logan about this. Rory continued to drive on. It was fairly early in the morning for a Gilmore. Her cup of coffee from Luke's kept her driving all the way. Rory didn't know all that much about Philadelphia except that M. Night Shyamalon lives there and Lane wanted to live there and hang out with him. Rory was disappointed that her childhood best friend and her family weren't at home when she visited. It was too late to do anything about it now. She didn't know what she was going to say to Jess when she got to see him. 'Hi, I got fired and now I have to go talk to Logan, who you hate, to see if he can help me because you can't.' It sounded harsh as she thought about it now. Rory didn't wear sarcasm so well in serious circumstances. Jess could always help emotionally. He had always been great at getting her to realise that she had made a huge mistake. When Logan couldn't convince her to go back to Yale, Jess did. As much fun as it was at Paris' wedding with Jess, she didn't know what was going on with them. She had pushed him away that first night of his visit. Rory was relieved once she saw the 'Welcome to Philadelphia' sign and decided to go in search of a coffee shop before she went to Truncheon. Rory found one near Locust Street as she was determined not to get lost in this strange city. Rory went in and ordered a cup of coffee and sat at the counter. This seemed mellower than at Luke's and everyone seemed so ordinarily dull compared to the Stars Hollow loons. Rory continued to sip at her coffee. The place was fairly busy but it was also strangely quiet. She heard someone call her name and turned to see Jess standing at the door. He had obviously just arrived here. Rory simply stared at him without a word, mentally kicking herself for her silence.

"Hey Jess." Rory eventually squeaked out.

"May I sit here?" Jess gestured towards the stool adjacent to hers and Rory nodded. "What are you doing here in Philadelphia?" Jess enquired.

"I am doing a bit of travelling and I thought I'd come see you for a little while." Rory explained briefly. "I actually wanted to talk to you so maybe we can go somewhere after this coffee?" Rory suggested and Jess ordered a cup of coffee for himself.

"That's fine. I do have to get a few coffees for the guys at Truncheon. We'll drop it off and I'll take you to a park nearby. How long can you stay here?"

"Not very long. Maybe a day or so." Rory could almost hear his disappointment at her short visit. "So, how's everything going?"

"It's a little slow at the moment. Nothing terribly exciting is happening. People give us manuscripts; we edit and eventually get around to the publishing part. I won't expose you to where we all live. It's a nightmare up there." Jess stated. Rory giggled a little at this and finished her coffee while Jess drank his.

Lorelai stared at the little piece of paper that held Mitchm Huntzberger's phone number. As happy as she was to send Rory off to San Francisco, after dropping in to Philadelphia, she knew that it was best to call Logan in advance. Lorelai had gained Mitchum's number through a newspaper that she knew he was working at. However, Lorelai did not have Logan's number, which she needed more than Mitchum's phone number. She didn't know if it was best to call him or face him directly. She figured that a phone call would be safest and decided to give it a try. Lorelai dialled the number into her home phone.

Mitchum: Huntzberger here.

Lorelai: Hello, is this Mr Mitchum Huntzberger?

Mitchum: Yes it is. Who is this?

Lorelai: Mr Huntzberger, my name is Lorelai Gilmore. I am Rory Gilmore's mother and I am calling you to ask for something.

Mitchum: This would've been much better if you had come to my office.

Lorelai: Your office is a little far away and I'm fairly pregnant so getting around is a little harder than usual. Please bear with me over the phone. I need Logan's phone number.

Mitchum: Why?

Lorelai: Well, Rory is going to go visit him and hasn't warned him yet so I thought I would call him instead.

Mitchum: Fine, his number is 555-2482.

Lorelai: Thank you very much. Goodbye.

Mitchum: Goodbye.

Lorelai hung up the phone with a slight dissatisfaction. Perhaps if she had said that she was eight months pregnant, he may have been a little more obliging. Lorelai now proceeded to call Logan, not sure if he would get his home, work or mobile.

Logan: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey Logan, it's me, Lorelai Gilmore.

Logan: Lorelai, you're Rory's mother.

Lorelai: Yes, I am. Listen, Rory is actually coming to visit you in a few days in San Francisco and I thought I should warn you and so you have time to prepare for your guest.

Logan: Oh, really? Why is she coming?

Lorelai: Rory will explain everything once she gets there. There's a bit of a situation going on.

Logan: Well, thank you for calling. I'm sure she will tell me what's going on. I can set her up in another room and it'll be cheaper at my place rather than a hotel.

Lorelai: I'm sure she'd appreciate that. Thank you Logan. I'm sure we'll be thanking you more if you can help her.

Logan: Any time. I have to get going now so I'll talk to you some other time and will see Rory soon. What day is she coming?

Lorelai: Monday.

Logan: Thanks. Bye.

Lorelai: Bye.

Lorelai felt more satisfied at this and was glad that Rory was with Jess in Philadelphia. She knew that Rory would come back sooner than Lorelai wanted her out of Stars Hollow for. Lorelai decided that she would go against her word and walk out to Luke's diner for some company. This solitary life was quiet and she wasn't feeling well enough to go into work. Mitchum Huntzberger would surely not see her walking around Stars Hollow and catch her out for lying. Lorelai grabbed her jacket and her keys and left the house. Babette was outside watering her plants as Lorelai closed her front door. Upon seeing her, Babette quickly ran down over to Lorelai.

"Oh, sugar! How have you been doing? Look at you braving the big bad world." Babette cried in her husky voice.

"Hey Babette. I'm doing just fine. How about you?" Lorelai replied.

"Oh, just great, sugar. Pregnancy suits you." Babette complimented and Lorelai laughed nervously.

"Oh, well, thanks, if only my mother agreed when I was 16." Lorelai joked and claimed that she had to go.

Lorelai walked slowly through the town, trying not to waddle from side to side. She smiled at the townsfolk as they smiled back at her. When Lorelai eventually reached Luke's, she collapsed on a nearby empty chair.

"You can't sit here." She heard a voice and looked up to see Kirk watching her.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm waiting for Lulu. She's coming by and we're going to have lunch together so you'll have to move." Kirk explained and Lulu came in at that moment.

"I'm sorry Lulu. I just crashed in the nearest chair and I'll move now." Lorelai dragged herself to an empty table with two chairs. Luke came over to Lorelai at her new table and greeted her with a quick kiss.

"Hello stranger." Lorelai said.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Luke enquired and Lorelai explained that it was so boring at home; she called two Huntzbergers for company. Luke didn't understand this.

"I didn't tell Rory to call Logan before she spontaneously jumps on a plane to San Francisco and I didn't have Logan's number so I had to call his father, Mitchum. That was pleasant. I slightly lied about how pregnant I was." Lorelai explained with a touch of sarcasm in her tone.

"I'm sure that Rory would've called Logan before she left." Luke tried to assure her, but Lorelai shook her head.

"She's been so frazzled ever since losing her job. She also didn't call Jess before driving all the way to Philadelphia. I hope she's doing well there and Jess isn't mad at her or anything. I guess Jess is more used to spontaneity." Lorelai felt tears springing at her eyes. "I don't think she's ever been fired before. Mitchum told her that she didn't have what it took to be a journalist and then she and Logan stole a yacht together. Well, that at least has been expunged from her record for a while. At least she didn't do anything stupid this time." Lorelai babbled on while Luke simply listened to her. "I'll have a Caesar salad please." Lorelai ordered and this shocked Luke.

"Um, ok, are you sure about that?" Luke asked to make sure and Lorelai nodded. This was probably the healthiest dish that Lorelai had ever ordered ever since that first day she entered the diner. Luke left Lorelai to herself and gave the order to Caesar. Caesar called Luke back for a minute.

"Does she want Caesar salad or Caesar's salad?" Caesar asked.

"What?" Luke enquired in confusion. Caesar explained that he had made a salad years ago that no one had ever ordered out of confusion. Luke told him to make the original Caesar salad, just in case.

After meeting the Truncheon boys briefly and providing their coffee, Jess and Rory went for a walk in a park nearby. The silence that filled them between the coffee shop and Truncheon was awkward yet comfortable.

"So, you said you wanted to talk. Is this a 'where do we stand?' talk?" Jess enquired and Rory assured him that it might be later. Jess stopped walking and faced Rory. "I'm listening." Jess offered and they went to sit on a park bench.

"I don't know if you've been reading the Connecticut Daily News or not but I've been working there for a while and you know how that dilemma with Cooper turned out. I was fired." Rory announced and Jess turned to her in complete disbelief.

"What?" Jess questioned.

"I was fired. I'm currently unemployed and my travelling is to visit you and go to San Francisco to see Logan." Rory continued to explain. She was starting to shake now.

"That Yale blonde dick guy?" Jess asked loudly and Rory confirmed this. "Jeez. Why? Why, Rory? What could he possibly offer you? Why are you out here?" Jess questioned as he stood up. He kicked the bench chair out of frustration.

"I'm not telling you this so you'll get mad at me. He may be able to help me. He's Cooper's cousin and maybe he can get him to change his mind or something." Rory continued. Jess sat back down and tried to calm his anger.

"Are you going to sue?" Jess enquired and Rory replied that she didn't know. "I'm sorry." Rory nodded and placed her hand over his on the park bench. "Why are you here?" Jess asked once more.

"I'm here to tell you first and this is where the 'where do we stand?' conversation comes in. What happened at Paris' wedding?" Rory started the subject although she knew that Jess was uncomfortable at this type of thing.

"We danced. You pushed me away the last time I tried to kiss you." Jess explained.

"It's so odd with Mom and Luke being married. I mean this is _my_ mother and _your_ uncle. I know our relations are far away enough for it to work like Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars. I'm sorry about all that." Rory apologised and started to stare at the green grass below them.

"If it works for Elinor and Edward, couldn't it work for us? They got married after all. I'm not proposing to you right now. What if we just didn't think about it?" Jess held Rory's hand while they were both still on the park bench. Rory didn't move an inch or remove her hand.

"I came here to you for emotional support and you've always been able to assure me that I'm making a big mistake." Rory stated. Jess denied that he ever did that. "At the Brace bridge dinner about Dean and when I dropped out of Yale. I went back because of you. I don't know what would've happened to me now if it hadn't been for you." Rory explained and Jess could do nothing but sigh. "Of course, Mom and Luke are always there for me but I want you to be there too. I hope I'm not pressuring you by coming all the way out here." Rory defended and Jess assured her that he is always there for her. The awkward silence returned and hung between them.

"So, what do we do now Cindy Lou?" Rory asked.

"Do we dare date again? I'm more reliable now. You can count on me this time. I have a steady job at Truncheon and no one is-" Jess was cut off when Rory kissed him spontaneously. Rory pulled away and stared back at the ground.

"I'm sorry." Rory quickly apologised as tears sprung at her eyes.

"I'm not." Jess kissed her again and this time Rory didn't push him away. They continued to kiss on the park bench, forgetting that they weren't the only ones there.

Lorelai arrived home after her healthy lunch at Luke's and went up to her bedroom. She saw her sewing machine peeking out from under a pile of clothes. Lorelai did her best to pull out the sewing machine and kept it on the floor, in the middle of the large bedroom. She would ask Luke to move it later when he got home. She picked up her things again and headed out to her car. Without thinking, Lorelai drove to a large fabric store. She needed something to do with her time for a little while and making her own maternity clothes seemed perfect, but so did buying them. Lorelai knew that the maternity clothes that she wore as a teenager certainly wouldn't fit her now. Lorelai headed back out of the store and quickly dialled her daughter for her opinion.

Rory: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey Rory, how's Philadelphia?

Rory: It's great. Jess and I are currently at the Liberty Bell. Was there any particular reason that you called?

Lorelai: Should I buy or make maternity clothes?

Rory: Shouldn't you be asking Sookie this type of question? You're checking up on me, aren't you? Mom, I'm all grown up and a few years off of being 30.

Lorelai: Are you saying you don't need me anymore?

Rory: I'll always need you. However, Sookie can help you with this issue. I have to go now. I'll see you later. Bye

Lorelai: Bye.

Lorelai was checking up on Rory because she was concerned and not a helicopter parent. In a few months, she'd have a new person to need her again. She could pass on her knowledge once again and share her old movie loving habits on to another child. This child would probably be healthier than Rory but she would instill coffee-drinking habits into this child as well. Lorelai called her best friend, Sookie after hanging up the phone with Rory. Sookie agreed to go maternity clothes shopping with her. Sookie would know where to get maternity clothes more than Rory. She couldn't imagine Rory ever getting pregnant for some reason. She was so careful to make sure that Rory wouldn't make the same mistakes as her. Lorelai was still stuck on what she would be able to do. Now that Rory was unemployed, she could have a few movie nights but she didn't want to turn into a couch potato. She could go back to knitting like she had at the Stars Hollow knitathon. Lorelai went back in to buy wool and extra knitting needles. She could make baby clothes for her new born such as little cute booties.

"Please tell me how it all goes with Yale Blonde Dick Guy." Rory promised him that he would be kept up to date with everything going on. Rory quickly kissed Jess one last time before getting in her car and leaving to go back to Stars Hollow. Jess waved as Rory drove away and went back to Truncheon, where he knew that Matt and Chris would be grilling him for details. Jess could've broken into song, he was so happy. However, Jess needed to keep his street credibility and avoided doing so. Rory drove all the way back home, feeling very satisfied about her visit to Philadelphia. Jess had eventually gotten around to showing Rory around Philadelphia after the talk at the Park. He decided to test how the other guys would do without him there. Rory was happy that she had seen the Liberty Bell. Somehow, driving back to Connecticut, slowly reminded her of all her troubles of being fired. She figured that she should go back to her Hartford apartment so her mother's money wasn't wasted. She couldn't simply ask for money again from her grandparents, knowing she'd never be able to pay them back. Philadelphia had made her forget that anything bad had happened to her, after that talk with Jess. She enjoyed being in a different city with an old friend. As she got closer to home, the more of her situation, she remembered. Perhaps it was the same Philly cheese magic that had changed Jess and made him stay there. She desperately wanted to make a dangerous U-turn and head back to Philadelphia and start all over again. She would forget her being fired and having to go to Logan to ask for him to deal with his stupid cousin. She didn't know what she would say to Logan. Luke and Lorelai could always visit her in Philadelphia. A life with Jess in Philadelphia was a wonderful fantasy, but it was simply that. A fantasy. A mere thought. It was a hope, a wish, and a dream. Her dream was to live in New York and work at The New York Times. The Big Apple could easily have the same effect on her. She just wanted to drive and have a new life, leaving Connecticut behind her. She wanted to leave her troubles behind her. However, Rory knew that she had to fix these troubles and she couldn't do that alone.

**A/N: Yes, I thought I'd end it on a long thought process. Please don't forget to vote for a boy or a girl. It will all be revealed in the final chapter. I really should study but would that matter if I became a famous author? Hehe. **** I hope you enjoyed Chapter Fifteen. **


	16. Welcome to San Francisco

Chapter Sixteen – Welcome to San Francisco

**A/N: I've skipped forward a few days until when Rory arrives at San Francisco. I should thank Summer2391 for suggesting the lawsuit although I had planned for Rory to go to Logan. Now I can write a court case! YAY! I've read enough Jodi Picoult books for this. Thank you to those who reviewed and added this to their alerts and/or favourites. Ha-ha. I hope you enjoy chapter sixteen, which is set in San Francisco. Rory is now expanding her world further than Connecticut. This chapter has more Rory than Lorelai in it. **

Logan Huntzberger sat outside on a beach lounge chair and looked at the avocado tree that was supposed to be theirs. He was dreading and looking forward to seeing Rory Gilmore in what he hoped to be better circumstances. The phone call from Lorelai disturbed him and had made him sick to think that Rory was upset. Logan had rented the house that he offered to Rory when he proposed just in case. He had also set up the bedroom as promised and hopefully Rory would stay there. As if on cue, he heard her angelic voice calling his name. Logan quickly jumped up and ran around to the front of his house. Rory was getting out of a taxi while the driver helped her with her bags.

"Hello Logan!" Rory waved at him as she paid the taxi driver. Logan walked down and stood in front of her.

"Hey there Ace. Sorry, Ms Rory Gilmore. Old habits die hard." Logan joked and Rory smiled a small smile.

"It's fine. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice." Rory followed Logan into the house while he carried her suitcase.

"Your Mom didn't tell you?" Logan enquired and Rory looked confused. "Your Mom called me a few days before yourself." Logan explained and Rory sighed.

"That must have been when I was in Philadelphia." Rory muttered quietly.

"I have a room set up for you and it's cheaper than a hotel." Logan offered and Rory thanked him. Once Logan had placed the suitcase on the ground, he gave Rory a tour of the house that could've been theirs. "I guess we should get to business then?" Logan offered as he went to the kitchen to make coffee. Rory sat down on the couch in the lounge room, which wasn't far from the kitchen.

"Cooper, your delightful cousin, fired me." Rory stated with a sarcastic tone. Logan came back with two coffees and an expression of pure shock.

"What? Why?" Logan questioned angrily. This reminded Rory of Jess' similar reaction to her coming here to Logan.

"Because I was eavesdropping on your conversation. Because our date was awkward and horrible. Maybe he simply doesn't like me. Who knows what's going on?" Rory tried to think of reasons that could possibly have led to her current employment situation. Logan tried hard to not hit the coffee table. "What should we do?" Rory asked. Logan held his head in his hand.

"Well, you could simply move on and look for a new job." Logan suggested.

"What about Cooper though?" Rory questioned and Logan shook his head.

"I never thought he would do something so stupid. I was trying to help. Anyway, what about Cooper? Did you want to go back to working at the Connecticut Daily News?" Logan suggested and Rory shrugged. "Do you want to sue? Is that why you're here?" Rory looked down at the carpet in shame.

"Sue for what? Wrongful termination? You know what? Don't worry about all this. It's obviously a mistake coming here. I'll just go back to Connecticut and get a new job." Rory stood up and started to head to the room that contained her suitcase. Logan quickly followed and stopped her.

"Rory, you obviously came here for a reason. You travelled across the country to see me about this. What did you have in mind?" Logan enquired.

"I wanted you to talk to him and let me have my job back. I don't deserve to be treated this way. He did not have a good reason to fire me!" Rory started to shout although she hadn't meant to direct it at Logan. Rory felt her face flush as she let Logan lead her back to the lounge room. Her coffee had gone cold at this point and Rory decided to leave it on the coffee table.

"You're obviously upset about this and you can sue if you want. I know a good lawyer who can be quite cutthroat. The deal with court cases is that you're going to hear a lot of stuff that you don't want to hear. You'll have to be strong. Do you think that you could do this?" Logan told her and Rory nodded in response.

"What about you?" Rory looked up as she asked this question. Logan drew a blank at what she could possibly have meant. "You guys seemed so close. You grew up together and were childhood friends as well as cousins. You told him everything about when we were together and I never knew he existed. So, how do you feel about suing your cousin and childhood friend?" Rory enquired and Logan smiled as if this were a new game that he hadn't played with yet.

"He's not going to mess with one of the best girls in the world and get away with it." Logan said as he pulled out his phone and called his family lawyer. Rory decided now was a good time to text Jess and her mother.

_Rory: In SF now. Logan & I have decided to sue for WT. All is well here. _

Rory was surprised at the fast reply she got from Jess but delighted all the same.

**Jess: Good 2 know. Matt can't handle poet. Truncheon is busy. Keep me posted. Enjoy SF. **

Logan returned once he had finished his phone call. He noticed that Rory had a bright smile on her face. It killed him a little to see her smile and figured that she must have moved on to someone else. Despite the fact that they broke up years ago, part of Logan still loved her. Logan had also moved on and he should be happy but he decided to ignore that happy expression she suddenly wore, as if nothing were wrong.

"That was the family lawyer and he's done heaps of favours for the family. As you know, I've gotten into a bit of trouble like stealing a yacht with you, amongst other things." Logan joked again but this time, Rory wasn't impressed. Logan decided to move on. "So, we'll have the details sorted by the morning. I have set you up in there and it's cheaper than a hotel. Have you ever been to San Francisco?" Rory shook her head that she hadn't been to San Francisco. Logan noticed that her bright smile was quickly replaced with an expression of concern. "I'll show you around. I promise that it will be fun." Logan offered and Rory stood up and followed him outside to San Francisco.

Now that Rory had left her house and was in San Francisco with Logan, Lorelai decided to go back to work for a while to manage the front desk. Lorelai tried to do not very stressful jobs such as answering the phone and checking people in while Michel entertained children with Chinese checkers and 'pretending to get mad when he lost.' This provided entertainment for one and all. However, Lorelai continued to worry about what was happening with Rory. She had received a text message informing her that they were going ahead with the lawsuit. At that moment, Lorelai heard a loud crash noise from the kitchen. Lorelai abandoned her station and went into the kitchen. Pots and pans lay on the ground everywhere covering a fallen Sookie while the other chefs continued to cook. Lorelai spoke in her limited Spanish for them to help Sookie get up.

"Sookie, you need to be more careful. I'm calling Doctor Sue." Lorelai announced as she took her phone out of her pocket. Jackson came in carrying a box of zucchini, which of course wasn't what Sookie had ordered.

"Sookie! Are you okay? I brought you the zucchini and I know you ordered the cucumbers but they are very similar." Jackson panicked and Lorelai informed him that she was calling the doctor. The cooks managed to rescue Sookie from the Great Pot and Pan Collapse of 2012. One particularly stronger chef managed to carry Sookie out to the car. As she was being carried away, Lorelai and Jackson heard the echo of "I want the cucumbers!" Lorelai and Jackson glanced at each other.

"She's going to be fine." They said in unison and giggled a little at both knowing Sookie so well. Lorelai noticed that her phone was ringing and the Caller ID informed her that Emily was calling. Lorelai groaned before picking up the phone.

Lorelai: Hello?

Emily: Lorelai? Will you please come over to my house?

Lorelai: Sure, when?

Emily: Now.

Lorelai: Now?

Emily: Now!

Lorelai: What's the rush?

Emily: I'll see you in 30 minutes at my house.

Lorelai: Fine.

Lorelai angrily closed her phone and paid Jackson for the unexpected, unwanted zucchini. Lorelai went to inform Michel that she was leaving when small Chinese checkers pieces went flying across the Inn floor.

"Michel! I'm leaving so you'll need to stay behind the desk and pick up all these pieces before someone falls on them and breaks their neck!" Lorelai yelled as she stormed out of the Dragonfly Inn. Soon, Lorelai was sitting on the bench outside the Inn trying to calm down. Once she had done this, she drove all the way to Hartford to meet her mother.

_Later at Ghirardelli _

Rory and Logan arrived at Ghirardelli near the port. Rory's eyes went wide with wonder. She had been having a great day at the Golden Gate Bridge although the top was constantly covered with a heavy fog.

"Oh my god! I love it here!" Rory claimed and Logan laughed at her. Rory picked up a menu and they each chose a large sundae. Rory made extra sure to get extra chocolate on hers. Logan led her towards a table near the chocolate fountain.

"So, are you having a good time?" Logan enquired and Rory nodded happily.

"I think it's just being out of Hartford and away from the newspaper room. I don't know what I'll do next with my life though. I had a great time in Philadelphia as well. San Francisco is such a great city and tomorrow, we'll go to Alcatraz." Rory announced happily. A pretty waitress came by and brought them their sundaes and Rory dug in excitedly like a small child. Logan slowly ate his ice cream sundae as he watched the chocolate fountain churning the liquid through. Rory looked back at Logan with a concerned expression that matched his.

"What's wrong?" Rory enquired and Logan told her that it was nothing. Rory didn't believe this though and had known him long enough to be able to tell.

"I'm a little nervous about this lawsuit but you seem to be dealing with it well. He's family. I think we should tell my family at a dinner. Would you be alright with that?" Logan explained and Rory's mind flashed back to what happened the last time she had had dinner at the Huntzberger house.

"That should be fine. You're right. Cooper will be pretty mad anyways. Right now, you need to forget it and just have fun in San Francisco. You've gotten so serious since I last saw you." Rory told him and Logan shrugged. "Will we have to go back to Hartford for this dinner?" Rory enquired and Logan nodded at this. He tried to forget this lawsuit and smiled at Rory. Logan quickly sent a text message to his sister, Honor, to organise this family dinner with everyone including Cooper. It would turn out to be more of a court trial at the dinner as well. Once they were finished with their sundaes, Logan decided to take Rory back to his house.

Lorelai Gilmore arrived at the Gilmore mansion to find an anxious Emily. She quickly pulled Lorelai's coat off, flung it to the maid and dragged her to the living room. Lorelai noticed another young woman sitting in the living room, sipping a gin martini. Emily gave Lorelai a club soda and sat down beside her.

"Club soda? What am I, twelve years old?" Lorelai questioned as she sipped the soda.

"Lorelai, I'd like you to meet Amelia Henderson. I told you about her after you announced that you were pregnant. She was my midwife when I was pregnant with you." Lorelai and Amelia lightly shook hands and Lorelai turned to her mother with a slightly annoyed expression.

"So, you dragged me away from work on a busy day to meet this woman?" Lorelai accused her mother who simply shrugged with a cunning expression on her face.

"Yes and to have lunch together as well. Where's Rory?" Emily asked and Lorelai's mouth fell in shock.

"First of all, you didn't tell me to bring Rory. Second of all, Rory's on the other side of the country and I don't know when she's coming back." Lorelai announced and Emily apologised.

"Why is Rory on the other side of the country?" Emily enquired.

"Are we playing 20 Questions or having lunch with Amelia who we're ignoring for your game?" Lorelai could hear herself getting angrier and she couldn't help it all. Her mother simply frustrated her to no end. Emily, remembering her guest, turned to Amelia and they both apologised.

"So you already have a daughter?" Amelia asked and Lorelai confirmed this.

"Her name's Rory Gilmore. Well, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore technically. I named her after myself while I was lying in the hospital wacked out on Demerol but my great belief is that feminism took over." Lorelai recounted the story she had told so many times before. Amelia seemed to enjoy this story by her small laugh.

"Are you keeping healthy?" Amelia enquired and Lorelai told her about ordering Caesar salad from Luke's several times. Emily was as shocked at this as Luke was to hear her order. Lorelai also recounted the times that Luke had served her decaf coffee which was almost a cruel joke.

"Has your obstetrician checked for Down's Syndrome?" Amelia enquired as she took down notes.

"Down syndrome?" Emily questioned and Amelia nodded.

"At this age, it's especially dangerous for the child to have Down's syndrome. It's really just a precaution." Amelia explained yet this did not make Emily worry any less.

"My obstetrician checked it the other day with an ultrasound and it seems to be a healthy baby." Lorelai told them much their relief. A maid arrived and informed them that lunch was ready. Emily led Amelia and Lorelai to the dinner table. On the way, Emily, not very subtly, pulled Lorelai to the side.

"How do you like Amelia?" Emily asked and Lorelai replied that she was very nice. Emily smiled at this and they walked back to the dining room. Amelia was already seated and the maid was bringing out fancy sandwiches and expensive tea for everyone.

Lorelai arrived home late to find Luke cooking dinner in the kitchen. This sight had started to become expected unlike when she was engaged to Max and his cooking was 'weird' for their household. Lorelai simply sat down and dumped her bag on the table. Luke, instantly sensing that something was wrong with Lorelai, turned off the stove and sat by Lorelai.

"How was your day? Have you heard from Rory?" Luke enquired and Lorelai pulled out her phone. She half-threw it on the table and it made a loud noise that caused Luke to jump in his seat.

"A text message! That's it?" Lorelai complained and Luke massaged her arm in a comforting gesture.

"I'm sure she'll call you." Luke assured her but Lorelai remained unconvinced.

"No, she won't. She doesn't need me anymore. She has Logan and Logan's money and San Francisco and this whole other life and I don't fit in anymore. She used to come to me for everything." Lorelai continued to complain feeling rather depressed that her daughter was all grown up and off in the world.

"She does need you. She'll always need you. Would you be willing to sue Cooper? We don't have that kind of money and we can't afford to borrow any more money from your parents. Why did Rory go to Logan and not to Emily and Richard anyway?" Luke enquired her and Lorelai mumbled that Cooper was Logan's cousin. "You need chocolate." Luke quickly grabbed a block of chocolate and lay it in front of Lorelai, who simply stared at it.

"This smells disgusting." Lorelai complained and pushed it away. Luke sighed loudly at this.

"When will you go back to being Lorelai Gilmore who eats nothing but crap all day, every day?" Luke started to complain, although he was fascinated by the complete changes that Lorelai had been making ever since she had fallen pregnant. It was their dream to have a child together but Luke missed Lorelai's calls for coffee, which still happened regularly, and ordering salad and watching her eat it was great but also out of character.

"Once this baby comes out and I'll stop eating salad and go back to eating chocolate. I'm sorry about all this." Lorelai apologised and Luke assured her that there was no need. Luke also suggested her calling Rory instead of waiting around. This suggestion seemed to cheer Lorelai up a little and proceeded to follow through with this idea.

_Logan's house _

The sun was starting to set as Logan and Rory reached the house. Rory had noticed another car in the driveway and wondered as to who it belonged to. Logan spotted the car as well and sank back in his seat.

"I'm so sorry." Logan sighed and Rory remained silent. "This might be a little awkward but I probably should introduce you two if you're going to stay here for this lawsuit." Logan tried to explain and Rory understood as she got out of the car. Logan quickly followed suit and went up to the front door.

"Is she your girlfriend or one of the many?" Rory enquired.

"Would you like to meet her? If it's too awkward, she can go back to her apartment." Logan sighed loudly again.

"You've moved on. I would expect no less." Rory assured him.

"If it's any consolation, she wants to meet you." Logan opened the door and let Rory in before himself. A pretty brunette girl in a purple dress was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. Her face was sharp with dark brown eyes and tanned skin and her lips full. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Logan who quickly greeted her with a kiss.

"Katharina, this is Rory Gilmore. Rory, this is my girlfriend Katharina, although everyone calls her Katie." Logan introduced them and they both lightly shook hands.

"I'm so happy to meet you." Katie pulled a stunned Rory down on the couch next to her. "So, how do you know Logan? He spoke of you fondly." Katie continued.

"Um, I knew Logan from Yale. Do you know why I'm here?" Rory asked and Katie shook her head.

"Logan said he didn't know but I'm happy to meet anyone new." Katie said excitedly. Rory seemed a little unsure of how to act around Katie. She was definitely hyperactive or caffeine-sensitive.

"Well, I didn't find out until this morning." Logan said as he sat down on the other couch, facing Rory and Katie. Rory shot Logan a how-can-you-like-someone-so-hyper look and he tried not to laugh. "You know Cooper right?" Logan said and Katie nodded.

"Oh, Coopie! He's such a great guy! Do you know him?" Katie cooed and Rory ignored her question.

"He fired Rory for no good reason so we are suing him." Logan announced and Katie's face fell. Her face was frozen in shock and it suddenly hit Rory that Katie knew Cooper and she never knew he existed.

"How do you know 'Coopie?'" Rory asked using the nickname that Kate said earlier.

"Oh, Logan introduced us. He wanted me to meet his best friend and his cousin." Katie announced and at that moment, the doorbell rang. Logan jumped up to get it but quickly turned back to Rory.

"I told Colin and Finn that you were coming and they wanted to see you. It'll be a bit of a party tonight. I hope you don't mind." Rory assured him that she didn't mind as Logan let Colin and Finn into the house. They had both matured a little but were equally pleased to see Rory after all these years.

"Rory Gilmore, you're still beautiful. Would you go home with me, Kitten?" Finn asked and Rory laughed off his proposal. Going home with Finn used to be a Life and Death Brigade punishment for doing something bad amongst the ladies.

"So, what are you doing on the West Coast?" Colin asked and Logan once again explained the lawsuit against Cooper. Normally, at this stage, Rory would've hidden away in her room yet time with these guys had turned her into a party girl. Rory noticed that her phone was ringing and she quickly excused herself into her room anyway.

Rory: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey there. How's San Francisco?

Rory: Oh, it's great. We went to the Golden Gate bridge and Ghirardelli for ice cream.

Lorelai: What about the lawsuit? I decided to let you tell him.

Rory: Logan's on board to help me with that. You could've let me know that you had already called him.

Lorelai: I'm sorry. I called while you were in Philadelphia because you didn't call Jess before you dropped by. I didn't think you were going to call Logan although both of them are used to spontaneity. I'm glad that you got around to calling though.

Rory: Thanks. I should get back. We have a little bit of a Yale reunion going on.

Lorelai: That explains the loud music. I'll talk to you soon then. Bye. Have fun

Rory: Thanks, I will.

Rory hung up her phone and saw Logan standing at the doorway.

"Who was that?" Logan enquired and Rory told him that her mother was on the phone. Rory tried to push past him yet Logan wouldn't let her. "What's wrong?" Logan asked for what felt like the millionth time that day of her problems.

"Is Katie always like that?" Rory pointed over to wear Katie was dancing crazily along with Colin and Finn in the living room.

"Like what?" Logan refused to look.

"Hyperactive. She's an adult, right?" Rory announced but Logan sighed in response.

"She's beautiful and intelligent and great at her job. She has also been looking forward to meeting you. I think you should give her a chance." Logan said and closed the door behind him. Rory sat on her bed and sighed.

"It's been a rough couple of weeks dealing with this unemployment and travelling. I'm not really in the mood for a party." Rory announced and Logan nodded.

"The old safe Rory Gilmore still lives, huh? I can kick everyone out or we can all go out to the pub or something." Logan told Rory who remained silent.

"I just wanted a bit of quiet time. I'm sorry about this." Rory told Logan who nodded in response. He left her alone and she could hear Logan announcing that they were going to the pub. She heard Katie's squeals of joy as well as Colin and Finn's loud immature cries. As this all happened, Rory lay on the bed and pulled out her copy of _The Subsect_. Something about being in Philadelphia with him made her want to read it again. She wondered if that happened when people hung out with all authors. If only Hemingway were alive, she could talk to him and maybe enjoy his books more. Rory quietly laughed at the thought.

**A/N: Please vote for a boy or a girl for Lorelai. Also, please review! It's exciting getting reviews. **


	17. Comfort & Family Favours With Lawyers

Chapter Seventeen – Comfort & Family Favours With Lawyers

**A/N: I wasn't really sure what to call this chapter but I figured that that would do. One good thing about being sick is having time to write fanfiction. So, thank you to all those who reviewed and added this story to their alerts! It's exciting knowing that there are people out there that enjoy your stories. Please review as well and keep voting for a boy or a girl but I think I've made up my mind. **

The bustle of people moved all around her. They chatted, gossiped, ate, paid and left. The tiny bell above the door announced the arrival of more customers. The waiters carried plates with hot food moved around her. Lorelai Gilmore sat on a stool at the counter of Luke's diner. Her laptop was open to a new email addressed to her daughter Rory Gilmore. Lorelai sat and stared at the blank screen in silence. She had no idea what to say that could comfort her daughter in an email. Luke came over to her and told her that she needed to leave soon. Lorelai simply ignored him and continued to stare.

"Lorelai, honey, listen to your husband. You can't stare at computer screens all day." Babette screeched in her husky voice behind her, which brought Lorelai out of her reverie. Lorelai nodded and closed the laptop. She packed up her things and left the diner without a word. Lorelai continued to walk with her laptop all the way home. She walked past the preparations in the Town Square for yet another festival. Lorelai sighed as she reached her house and felt the need to sit down on the stairs leading up to the porch. She held her growing stomach and couldn't believe that she was pregnant again. It had been a long time since her last pregnancy with Rory. It was 28 years ago that Christopher had impregnated her. Now her daughter was all grown up and off in the world, suing her boss for wrongful dismissal. How did she let that happen?

"I promise that nothing bad will happen to you." Lorelai spoke out loud and the only people left to hear her were Babette's gnomes.

Luke watched his beautiful wife leave his diner in misery. He knew that she was worried about Rory and this lawsuit, not to mention paying Logan back the money for legal fees. It would be a fruitless, expensive case. It was a case of one Huntzberger against another with Rory in between. Before Luke knew what he was doing, he dialled Rory's cell phone number on the phone. The phone continued to ring for what seemed like forever. Eventually, her voice repeated her voicemail message and Luke decided to leave a message rather than hanging up.

"Hey Rory, this is Luke. It's not an emergency or anything but your Mom's a bit worried about you and I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you could call her or something. Thanks, bye." Luke hung up the phone loudly which caused for Kirk, sitting at the counter, to jump in his seat.

Rory Gilmore sipped her cup of coffee as she sat down at the glass table with Logan and his family lawyer, Mr. Robert Pennell. The two men joked with each other as if they were the closest of friends instead of a lawyer and his client. Rory felt extremely bored by this yet attempted to keep a smile on her face. There was something to be said about family favours with lawyers. Rory reminded herself of when Charlie Davenport met with her and her grandfather, Richard Gilmore and Rory sat bored as they also joked with each other. This time Rory decided to cough and grab what attention of theirs that they could. Logan and Robert looked back at Rory with guilty expressions, obviously forgetting their reasons for even meeting up.

"I'm so sorry, Rory. We haven't discussed your case at all. So, you want to sue Mr. Cooper Huntzberger for wrongful dismissal. Why? Please, tell me what happened." Logan and Robert sat and watched her, waiting for an answer. Rory heard her cell phone ring but decided to ignore it.

"Well, he kept asking me out and I made a Pro/Con list. We did go out on a date but it was a bad first date. After that, it was awkward between us and I overheard a conversation." Rory quickly looked to Logan, quietly wondering if she should tell him about that conversation between Cooper and Logan. Logan quickly nodded, assuring her that she could proceed. Rory drew in a large breath before she continued. "I overheard a conversation in Cooper's office between Cooper and Logan. Cooper wanted Logan to take back the newspaper and Logan refused, rather loudly. Logan stormed out and at the end of the day, Cooper asked to talk to me in his office. I went in and he told me that I was a great journalist and an asset to the Connecticut Daily News and he fired me." Rory finally finished and quickly excused herself to listen to any new voicemail. Rory listened to the message to Luke and made a mental note to talk to her mother that evening.

"Well, what case can we make out of that?" Logan enquired and Robert suggested sexual harassment. Logan was shocked at these words as was Rory when she returned to the table.

"That's what it sounds like to me." Robert told them.

"So, what is exactly going to happen? I don't really know the procedure of a lawsuit." Rory enquired and Robert sat up, ready to tell a long story.

"The first thing that is going to happen is that I am going to go down to the Court and file this lawsuit. They will write a summons and send it to Cooper to let him know that he is being sued and why. He will then have a bit of time to respond to this lawsuit. After that, we will have a pre-trial and figure out what this case will be about. Should we have a jury trial or a bench trial? A jury might be biased upon what little they know of your family." Robert explained and Logan shrugged.

"We're not perfect although everyone thinks we are. The Gilmores, especially Rory, know that we aren't the perfect almighty family. Maybe a bench trial would be best." Logan decided and Robert decided to continue.

"After that will be the actual trial with evidence, statement and witnesses similar to a criminal trial. You may pull out of this at any time that you wish. A final decision will be made and you or Cooper or both may appeal if you are unhappy with this decision. Once a decision has been made, you, the plaintiff, will not be able to make a similar claim against Cooper again, because a decision has been made." Robert finished explaining and started to gather his papers.

"Do you mind waiting about a week to send this summons to Cooper?" Logan enquired.

"I don't mind but you'll want to send it pretty soon. Why do you want to wait?" Robert asked.

"I think we should discuss this at a family dinner so Cooper isn't blindsided." Logan explained and Robert agreed that this was fair enough. He gathered his papers and left the house. Rory let out a loud sigh.

"Wow, this legal stuff is scary." Rory joked and Logan went to call his family.

Secretary: Mr Huntzberger's office, how may I help you?

Logan: Hi, this is his son, Logan. May I please speak with him?

Secretary: Yes, I'll pass you through.

Mitchum: Mitchum Huntzberger here.

Logan: Hello there, Father.

Mitchum: Logan? How's San Francisco working out for you?

Logan: Oh, it's going great.

Mitchum: You haven't called since that Christmas you missed.

Logan: Really, how about it? Listen, I'm thinking of coming back to Connecticut for a little bit and I was wondering if Mom could throw together a dinner party? There's a bit of a situation going on.

Mitchum: You should've called your mother instead of me but I'll take down the details if you want. Who will be coming?

Logan: Well, there's you, Mom, Josh, Honor, Luke Danes, Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore, Cooper, Richard and Emily Gilmore and me.

Mitchum: That's quite a gathering. What's the situation?

Logan: We'll explain it all at dinner. Just make sure that everyone's there. Would this Friday work for everyone?

Mitchum: That should be fine. I'll call your mother. We'll see you this Friday. Goodbye.

Logan: Bye.

Emily Gilmore shifted the vase to the left once more. The phone started to ring and the shrill sound echoed throughout the house. She heard her husband answer the phone and Emily saw that his study door was open while he was inside. Emily could not ever remember an occasion when the study door was open at all. Richard noticed Emily watching and gestured for her to come into the study. Emily quickly told the maid to set the table for four people immediately before she almost ran into Richard's study. Richard quickly looked up at his wife and enquired whether they were free or not that Friday. Emily looked through her organiser and confirmed that they were despite the usual Friday Night Dinner with Luke and Lorelai. Richard placed the phone back into it's cradle once he had finished the phone conversation.

"What was that all about?" Emily enquired.

"That was Mitchum Huntzberger on the phone. He wants to have us for dinner on Friday night." Richard announced and this brought a bright smile to Emily's face.

"Oh, that's wonderful news! I'm sure Luke and Lorelai wouldn't mind a night off driving from Stars Hollow to Hartford. The maid could also have a night off." Emily gushed excitedly but Richard held his hand up.

"Luke and Lorelai are invited as well. There's going to be a bit of a dinner party. He doesn't know Luke or Lorelai's number so I told him that they were coming over tonight and we would tell them tonight." Richard told Emily and the bright smile was changed to a confused expression.

"Does this have anything to do with Rory being fired?" Emily enquired and suddenly remembered that she had failed to inform her husband of this. She shouldn't have had to due to Richard consistently reading the newspaper. "I thought you would've read the announcement in the Connecticut Daily News." Emily defended herself as she looked up at her husband.

"Who fired her?" Richard demanded and Emily started to turn and leave.

"Cooper Huntzberger." Emily told him in a small mouse voice. At that, the doorbell rang. "That'll be Lorelai and Luke." Emily left Richard's study and went to check that the dining room had been set while the maid welcomed them inside and collected their coats. The dining table looked lovely except for one major error.

"Andrea!" Emily shrieked. A timid, shaking maid carrying two coats arrived at the dining room. "Forks are meant to go on the left and knives on the right. Fix it!" Emily demanded and she took the coats off the maid and hung them on the coat rack. Emily 'well, she's fired,' thought as she went into the living room where Luke and Lorelai had already made themselves comfortable. Richard finally arrived as quiet and solemn as ever. Richard started to make their usual drinks while Emily sat and started the conversation.

"So, what's been happening?" Lorelai enquired.

"We've all been invited to a dinner party on Friday. It will be at the Huntzberger mansion so all four of us will be there amongst other people." Emily announced and Richard handed out the drinks to the respective people.

"Wow, why?" Luke enquired and Emily replied that she did not know. Richard took his place sitting next to his wife.

"I suppose we'll find out on Friday." Richard announced quietly.

Logan snapped his phone shut and turned back to Rory. Rory sat down on the couch and held her head in her hands. Tears started to spring at her eyes and this was one of the times that she needed comfort from her mother or even Jess. Logan stood awkwardly in front of her, afraid to touch her or comfort her in any way. Instead, he walked back to the kitchen and started to make a fresh pot of coffee. If that was the least he could do in the circumstances, he would make the best comforting coffee. Logan could hear Rory's voice as she talked to someone on the phone as he wished that he could provide what she needed. He heard her talk about the dinner that was coming up and assumed that she was talking to her mother. Logan poured the coffee into a mug once it was done and presented it to Rory. She smiled at the sight and smell of the strong coffee. He had dated her long enough to know how she liked her comfort coffee.

"Yes, I'll see you this Friday. Don't worry about me. It's all perfectly fine and I'm fine." Rory closed her phone slowly once she said goodbye and started to sip the coffee. "Not bad." Rory commented and Logan smiled.

"Rory, I know that it is scary but you can back out at any time." Logan assured her but Rory shook her head.

"No, I want to do this." Rory said, a little forcefully. "My mom's not sure that she can handle the stress that this dinner is going to be. You know that she's pregnant, right?" Logan shook his head at this. "She's married to Luke and she's about 5 or 6 months pregnant. Maybe I should've waited to do this lawsuit or not thought of it at all." Rory could feel her self-doubt rising and decided that she needed to do this on her own.

Richard Gilmore had been quieter than usual that evening for dinner yet also concerned with what was happening that Friday night. Lorelai was having trouble cutting the chicken on her plate for some reason. Lorelai heard her phone ringing in the small bag that was hanging on the back of her chair. Lorelai turned to answer it and her mother scolded her.

"Lorelai, how many times have I told you to turn your phone off at dinner?" Emily told her but Lorelai excused herself anyway seeing that it was her daughter calling.

Lorelai: Hello? Rory? How are you doing?

Rory: Mommy! I got Luke's message and I was wondering how you were doing.

Lorelai: Oh, I'm fine. I guess that I just miss you a lot and I want to help you through this lawsuit.

Rory: I miss you too and you can find out the details this Friday night. We're all having a sort of Gilmore and Huntzberger family dinner party so I hope you can come if you're up for it. Otherwise, I can come home afterwards and fill you in on the details. Logan and I may be coming back on Thursday and he wants to stay in The Dragonfly Inn whereas I think I should spend some time at home.

Lorelai: Yeah, we've heard about that dinner this Friday night. Mitchum called a little while before we arrived. Luke and I are at your grandparents' house now. So, is Logan being good to you?

Rory: Logan is being great about everything and he's really rich. His lawyer is excellent and we went through the legal system of what is going to happen. It sounds really scary. I wish you were here.

Lorelai: I wish I was there too. What's life of the unemployed like?

Rory: Fun when you're suing the person who fired you. You should probably get back to your dinner. I'll see you on Thursday.

Lorelai: Bye. See you Thursday

Rory: Bye.

Lorelai hung up her phone and returned the table. Lorelai looked up at her parents and Luke, expecting angry expressions but instead received intrigue and curiosity.

"That was Rory." Lorelai announced and relayed the details of the Friday Night Huntzberger Dinner Party to everyone.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter 17! I know that there isn't much there but the next chapter will be the Huntzberger-Gilmore Family Dinner. Please review! **


	18. HuntzbergerGilmore Family Dinner

Chapter Eighteen – The Huntzberger-Gilmore Family Dinner

**A/N: Sorry if this took a while. I've had a ton of schoolwork and I still do. This is also the third time that I've written this chapter so I hope it's better than the last two drafts. **

(Thursday)

Lorelai Gilmore paced back and forth in the reception of the Dragonfly Inn. She was also starting to slightly waddle from side to side which for a long time amused her co-worker Michel.

"Will you stop that?" Michel Gerard snapped in his heavy French accent. Lorelai shook her head and continued to pace.

"Rory and Logan are late and I can't handle this anymore!" Lorelai stormed off to the kitchen to vent to her best friend, Sookie. As she entered the kitchen and started to head straight for the coffee machine, she noticed Rory and Logan chatting and joking with Sookie. Before she knew what she was doing, Lorelai pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"Ow! Hi Mom. Bones cracking. Organs crushing. Small towns sure are friendly." Rory squeaked out as she gasped for breath. She had no idea that her Mom missed her so much.

"Rory! What are you doing back here? Why did you come in through the kitchen and not even greet me?" Lorelai questioned as she let Rory go.

"Logan was trying to show off and prove he knew a better way in here and then Sookie saw us and we all started chatting." Rory explained as Lorelai started to slowly make her way towards the coffee machine. "Were you coming here for a cup of coffee?" Lorelai shrugged her shoulders.

"No, not really." Lorelai lied but her daughter could see right through it all. Rory immediately moved in front of the coffee machine, preventing Lorelai from getting there herself. Lorelai decided to turn to Logan.

"How's San Francisco working out?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, it's great. I have a beautiful house and it's a lot of fun over there. I gave Rory a tour around San Francisco and she seemed to enjoy it." Logan explained and Lorelai nodded. Lorelai led Rory and Logan out of the kitchen and to the reception area of the Inn.

"So, how have you been? How has all this lawsuit stuff been?" Lorelai enquired.

"Oh, it's not too bad at the moment but tomorrow, it's going to blow up in all of our faces. I'm a little worried about that. It's going to be a bit suss with all the Gilmores going over to meet with the Huntzbergers." Rory explained.

"Don't forget Luke! He's a Dane." Lorelai added cheekily. "Well, tomorrow will be fun and dramatic and we're all here to support you. The question is, which of the Huntzbergers will support you? I can see that you've got Logan hooked in."

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see." Rory decided.

(Friday at the Huntzberger Mansion)

Logan, Rory, Lorelai and Luke all drove in Rory's Toyota Prius to the Huntzberger mansion. There were constant assurances of support from everyone throughout the drive. Once they arrived at the mansion, Logan started to feel uneasy about the situation. Luke, however, was overwhelmed with the size of their house.

"I don't know what I got you guys into." Logan stated and he leaned against the car, once he had gotten out.

"It'll be fine. You shouldn't be worried." Rory assured him and he led them all to the front door. Rory pressed the doorbell for them and a timid maid opened the door and let them all in.

"Some things never change in houses of rich people." Lorelai whispered to Luke, who stifled a laugh once he heard this. The maid collected their coats and showed them to the Huntzberger family. Mitchum, Shira, Cooper, Honor and Josh were all already there. Honor was pleased to see Rory and gave her a big hug.

"It's been so long. We must catch up!" Honor gushed and finally settled back with her husband.

"Mom, Dad, it's great to see you both. Cooper, how's that newspaper going? Honor, Josh, how are you guys going?" Logan greeted everyone. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Rory's mother and step-father. This is Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes. Lorelai, Luke, this is Mitchum, Shira, Honor, Josh and Cooper." Logan introduced everyone and shot a look at Lorelai and Luke, to not give anything away. Logan organised drinks for everyone while he held up conversations.

"San Francisco is going great. It's also nice to be back home for a while and to see my family." Logan told them.

"Rory, dear, where are you working at the moment?" Shira enquired and Rory glanced nervously at her family.

"I'm keeping my options-" Rory was cut off by Logan's intervention.

"Didn't you read the notice in the CDN?" Logan interrupted and shot a look at Cooper, who avoided his glance.

"Yes, I believe I did. Is the CDN the one you are running, Cooper?" Shira asked and Cooper nodded.

"Why did you leave, dear Rory?" Shira continued and Rory once again glanced around nervously and shifted slightly in her seat.

"Mom, don't pester Rory." Logan once again interfered on Rory's behalf. Rory gave Logan a small smile in thanks as he gave her her drink. Logan passed around the other drinks to the rest of the Gilmore family. Mitchum and Cooper started a discussion on the business of running the Connecticut Daily News. At that, Emily and Richard finally arrived and Lorelai raised an eyebrow at them for their tardiness. Rory stood up and gave each of them a welcoming hug. Shira and Mitchum also raised to greet Richard and Emily.

"Hello there everyone. We're so sorry that we're late! Traffic was terrible all the way here." Emily explained.

"Mom, you live much closer than all of us Stars Hollow folks." Lorelai retorted and Emily explained that there was a car accident not far from the Huntzberger mansion. The maid arrived to announce that dinner was ready and led them all to a beautifully set dining table. Rory took note of the recent wisps of smoke most likely from Shira's cigarette. Everyone settled themselves at the table and began to eat the salad in front of them.

"So, are Congratulations in order then?" Cooper questioned and Logan looked up at him confused. "I mean, Logan, did you propose to Rory? When's the wedding?" Cooper continued and Logan glared at him.

"No, Rory and I are not getting married. In fact, I met someone in San Francisco. Her name is Katharina but everyone calls her Katie." Logan explained and Cooper nodded. "What about you, Cooper?"

"Why are we prying into people's personal lives?" Emily questioned although she secretly was enjoying it and felt the need to interrupt.

"So, Lorelai, what do you do for a living?" Shira asked Lorelai. Lorelai told her all about the Dragonfly Inn while Luke talked to Mitchum about his tiny 'rustic' diner. Emily and Richard were riveted by Logan and Cooper's conversations.

"I'm not seeing anyone at the moment. I've been too busy with work. I'm one of those 'married to his job' types." Cooper explained.

"You know, I've never heard anyone call themselves the 'married to their job' type before." Richard decided.

"So, Rory, anyone new in your life?" Emily probed and Rory immediately felt herself feel flushed.

"Well, he's not really in Connecticut so it's kind of long distance. He actually lives in Philadelphia." Rory vaguely told them.

"I hear they've got great Philly cheese there!" Lorelai joked and Rory giggled nervously.

"Well, when will we get to meet this young man?" Emily suggested.

"Or woman." Lorelai added. "Because that would be alright, wouldn't it Mom?" Lorelai provoked and Emily smiled a tight smile at the thought of her perfect angel granddaughter being gay.

"Yes, of course, that would be just fine, as long as you're happy. Lorelai, if you were listening, she said '_he_'" Emily told her daughter who quickly surrendered.

"_He's _quite busy and I believe that you may have met him. He's an old friend so it's nice." Rory said evasively.

"Rory, you know we read that announcement in the Connecticut Daily News about you leaving. Have you found a new job yet?" Mitchum enquired and Cooper slammed his fist down on the table out of frustration. Everyone turned to Cooper.

"What are you all doing here?" Cooper snapped and everyone exchanged confused expressions.

"What can you possibly mean?" Shira enquired.

"If Rory and Logan aren't getting married and are seeing each other, why is Rory and her family here? Also, why won't you leave that announcement in the newspaper alone? Rory left the newspaper on her own." Cooper shouted and Rory started to panic.

"What?" Rory questioned angrily.

"I think it's show time." Logan whispered to Rory before turning to Cooper.

"You fired me! Don't you remember?" Rory shouted loudly.

"What is going on?" Mitchum demanded to know.

"Cooper pressured me into dating him and we went on one date but because it didn't go well, everything was awkward at the newspaper office. Cooper tried to get Logan to take back the CDN but he refused so Cooper fired me. However, we aren't letting this go unnoticed which is why I'm suing you for Wrongful Termination. Our lawyers will be contacting you on Monday morning." Rory announced.

"Why would you do that?" Mitchum asked and Cooper slunk back in his seat. "Newspapers are not toys! They are businesses!" Mitchum shouted and Shira quickly excused herself from the table. Honor made a smoking signal with her mouth and she quickly explained it to Luke and Lorelai.

"We are all supporting Rory's decision to fire Cooper." Lorelai shot at them. "Logan is helping Rory and we are not unprepared for a battle."

"Look, Rory, I'm sorry." Cooper tried to apologise to Rory, who wouldn't believe it.

"Like hell!" Rory spat back at him.

"Cooper, you mishandled this situation so we are all going to support Rory's lawsuit." Mitchum announced. Rory looked back at him, bewildered. This was the man who said that she didn't have what it took to be a journalist. This was the man who caused for her and Logan to steal a yacht and receive 300 hours of community service and a criminal record, which she only got expunged the previous year. She couldn't believe that this same man was supporting her now to sue his nephew.

"Really?" Rory asked feeling a little relieved. Rory quickly excused herself from the dining room and went to the living room. She sat down on one of the expensive chairs and started to sob quietly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see that it was her mother, also crying. Rory hugged her mother in support as they both cried for each other in the expensive house.

"This was all I've wanted to do while you were gone." Lorelai told her daughter who continued to cry into her loving embrace. The shouting continued in the dining room and it seemed that the Huntzbergers believed that Cooper was in the wrong and would return to San Francisco after the lawsuit. Rory didn't know how she would pay the Huntzbergers back but she was sure that they wouldn't have been this grateful. The shouting eventually died down once Cooper left and slammed the heavy wooden door behind him.

"Maybe I was wrong about you." A voice announced and Rory turned to see Mitchum standing at the doorway. He left to go back to his family and left Rory and Lorelai to hug. Lorelai let go of Rory and wiped away her tears.

"I think the worst is over now." Lorelai led Rory back to the dining room. The rest of the Huntzberger family faced her and Rory found it hard to keep her tears back.

"I'm really sorry about all of this." Rory apologised while Lorelai kept her arm around her daughter.

"There's no need to be. You're a hard worker and I'm sure you didn't deserve to be fired." Mitchum assured her and the Gilmores decided that it was best to go home. Lorelai led the way out of the large mansion and they all drove back home to Stars Hollow.

"Does anyone want to go to the diner for a cup of coffee?" Luke suggested and they all agreed. It was a quiet ride back home to the Hollow.

"How will we pay you back?" Rory asked quietly and Logan assured her that there really was no need to.

They eventually arrived at the diner and Luke unlocked the door. They settled themselves down at their regular table while Luke went to make a cup of coffee. Just then, a familiar person arrived at the diner.

"Hey Luke, it took you long enough to come back and open this place up." He said and turned to face Rory.

**A/N: Fairly obvious cliffhanger there. I hope you enjoyed that chapter with a bit of drama. Not sure if Mitchum would really support this but it's my story! **


	19. His Return & Emotional Drama

Chapter Nineteen – His Return & Emotional Drama

**A/N: For the record, to all my readers and fans, I am thinking of changing my Pen Name to LiteratiLady. This is my way of getting the message out to everyone and I will put a message in my profile that I will be formerly known as Palforpolkadots. This new Pen Name came in an inspiration and my friend made up my current Pen Name when we were in year 9 (2007), so it seemed like time for a change. I noticed that Fanfiction does discourage changing Pen Names so as not to confuse fans. I figured that this would be a good way of the getting the word out so hopefully, no one will be confused. I hope you enjoy Chapter Nineteen! By the way, does anyone know how to get those line separators to show up on Fanfiction? **

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed and quickly jumped up to give him a hug. He awkwardly hugged her back and felt self-conscious of the others watching them. Rory pulled away and quickly introduced him to everyone, when she remembered that Jess everyone already.

"Hello Jess," Luke greeted his nephew. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit Rory. Didn't she tell you?" Jess got his car keys out of his pocket and quickly excused himself to lock up his car. Jess winked at Rory before he left.

"I-I" Failing to come up with her own excuse, Rory bolted out of the diner and joined Jess at his car. "I can't believe you're here! I thought you were coming tomorrow." Rory gushed.

"I wanted to surprise you but I forgot about this dinner thing you were going to so I had to wait a while." Jess explained and leaned in to kiss Rory. Their lips brushed against each other and Rory finally kissed him firmly.

"They say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'." Rory sighed and Jess smirked at his girlfriend.

"What a load of crap! It causes break ups." Jess kissed her once more and he finally led her back to the diner. "How was the dinner?" Jess enquired and Rory told him all about the drama that ensued as they walked slowly back to the diner. Rory noticed that everyone was watching her but she didn't care and neither did Jess. Jess held open the door to the diner for Rory and she walked in to find everyone watching them.

"Well, I think I should be heading over to the Dragonfly Inn now. Goodnight everyone. It was nice to uh see you." Logan grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and left the diner. Rory quickly glanced at Jess before she released herself from his grasp. She followed him out of the diner and caught up with Logan in the middle of the street.

"Logan, please wait." Rory called and Logan stopped before slowly turning around. "You have been so good to me about this whole lawsuit and I'm sorry about Jess showing up. Please say you're not mad. I couldn't do this without you." Rory pleaded and Logan nodded.

"There's no need to be sorry. I hope you're happy that you're back with him. What was his name again?" Logan said.

"It's Jess Mariano. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Logan nodded and went on his way back to the Inn. Rory headed back inside to the diner where Jess was having a cup of coffee with Lorelai and Luke. When he saw Rory return, Jess pushed the extra cup of coffee aside for her. Rory sat down in the chair next to him and started to sip the cup of coffee. They both became aware that Luke and Lorelai were still in the diner, watching them closely.

"I have to go upstairs to get something." Luke announced and quickly rushed upstairs to his old Unabomber apartment. Although he had completely moved into Lorelai's house years ago, he still kept some things upstairs. It was for the most part empty though and could be considered a spare guest room for Jess or April, if the house was full. Lorelai quickly excused herself as well and followed her husband upstairs.

"Okay, don't do anything dirty!" Rory yelled out after her mother's retreating figure.

"Right back at you!" Lorelai retorted loudly as she ran up the stairs. Downstairs, Rory giggled at this knowing that they wouldn't do anything like that if anyone else were in the diner.

Lorelai forced open the door to the apartment and saw that Luke was making the bed for Jess.

"Hey," Lorelai said as she sat down in the nearest chair.

"Hey, I'm just making this bed so Jess can be comfortable." Luke told her as he continued to make the bed.

"So, Jess, is he really only here to visit Rory? I mean, I didn't really know exactly what had happened in Philadelphia. Apparently, they got back together which is great. What's up with him?" Lorelai rambled on and Luke only half-listened to check if she actually needed someone to talk to. A lot of the time, Lorelai rambled on and usually figured everything out for herself as she was babbling away. One time she did this was when Rory was first dating Dean and Rory didn't tell Lorelai about it. Sometimes, she did need someone to talk to, someone to listen and to eventually respond. This seemed to be one of those rare occasions.

"Why don't you go back downstairs and ask him?" Luke suggested and Lorelai shrugged.

"I just don't feel very comfortable with him. I know, you've said it before; he's changed and matured. That's great! Rory lent me her copy of _The Subsect, _which is amazing too. But, what is he doing here? Logan's also here and this could turn ugly." Lorelai continued. Luke placed the rest of the sheets down on the bed and went over to Lorelai, where he only had to hold her hand in comfort.

"It will all turn out okay." Luke assured her and Lorelai shook her head as she started to sob uncontrollably. She felt out of control as the tears poured from her eyes and chalked it up to hormonal changes. Luke led Lorelai to the couch where he hugged her tightly as Lorelai continued to cry.

"She has been through so much. I don't want anyone else to hurt her. I don't want to see her hurt again. Maybe she should reconsider all this." Lorelai continued as she sobbed on Luke's comforting shoulder.

"Rory's strong and she'll get through all this. She has gotten through plenty of heartbreak and she'll get through this as well. This lawsuit will be nothing to worry about." Luke assured her but Lorelai continued to cry anyway.

Back downstairs; Rory was enjoying Jess' company in the empty diner.

"What do you think is going on up there?" Jess smirked as he indicated to Luke's apartment. They had been up there for quite a while now. Rory shrugged her shoulders in apathy.

"Hopefully nothing dirty." Rory stated and Jess leaned closer to her.

"Well, if they are doing something dirty up there, we can do something less explicit down here." Jess kissed Rory quickly on the lips and pulled back before she could reciprocate. Rory pouted in disappointment at him. She kissed Jess back and both had to resist the urge of clothing removal when they heard someone cough. Rory and Jess jumped apart to opposite ends of the table. They turned awkwardly to see that Luke and Lorelai had returned downstairs.

"Hi, do you think it's time to say 'goodnight' to your step-cousin?" Lorelai said chirpily although Rory could see that her mother's eyes were red and a little glassy from crying, possibly. Rory quickly pecked Jess once again as she grabbed her coat. Lorelai and Rory left the diner and started to head back to the Crap Shack.

When Lorelai and Rory reached home, they both collapsed on the couch.

"Mom? Have you been crying?" Rory asked and Lorelai sighed. Her eyes were less red than before but still noticeable. Lorelai decided that Rory was grown up and mature enough for them to have an adult conversation but it was late at night after a long night of drama.

"It's nothing but hormone induced emotions. I may have been a tiny bit worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt by this lawsuit so I'm asking you to be really careful. This includes this thing with Jess as well." Lorelai started to explain and Rory jumped when her mother mentioned her boyfriend.

"What does Jess have to do with this?" Rory questioned.

"What if he takes off in the middle of the night again? I just can't stand to see you hurt but I'm always here if and when you need me. This lawsuit may also be more emotional than you'd think. All I know about lawsuits for wrongful termination was my wonderful deposition when Mom was getting sued." Lorelai explained with a clear hint of sarcasm and Rory rolled her eyes.

"I'm the one suing and I don't see how this is going to be any emotional drama. I'm the one demanding compensation so it should be Cooper rolling up in a ball and crying in the court room!" Rory joked to try to lighten the mood.

"Well, this is all a little too serious for a conversation this late at night. I'm just going to ask you to be careful." Lorelai instructed her daughter.

"I will." Rory promised in a slightly irritated tone.

"_Really _careful. 'Boy in the Plastic Bubble' kind of careful." Lorelai insisted and her daughter nodded. "So, TV?" Lorelai suggested but Rory decided to go to sleep instead.

The following morning, Luke's diner was busier than usual and the excitement of the old Town Hoodlum's return hung in the air. Jess tried to ignore the constant stares and gossips about him while he served coffee and food. They were both beyond relieved to see Lorelai and Rory entering the diner. Jess refrained from greeting Rory in his usual affectionate manner due to the amount of customers in the diner. Logan had also come with Lorelai and Rory to Luke's for breakfast.

"My God, it's busy in here!" Logan exclaimed as they found three seats at the counter.

"He gets good word of mouth." Rory said.

"I thought everyone hated him." Logan felt confused and realised that Rory was talking about Luke. Luke eventually came over to them at the counter.

"Hey, you snuck out of bed this morning!" Lorelai accused him and Luke smiled.

"I had early deliveries this morning." Luke explained and leaned closer to Lorelai. "Are you okay this morning?" Luke whispered in her ear and Lorelai nodded. "So, are you all ready to order?" Logan and Lorelai both ordered pancakes whilst Rory ordered French toast.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Lorelai enquired.

"I may be hanging out with Jess after the breakfast rush. We may hit the bookstore, have pizza, hang out for a while to catch up and that's all I've figured out so far." Rory explained.

"I may go revisit the sights of Stars Hollow and get some pie. I should also call Robert." Logan decided.

"You're on a first name basis with your lawyer?" Lorelai questioned.

"He's the family lawyer and we're pretty good friends. We've had to be for all the trouble he has gotten me out of." Logan explained and Lorelai groaned a little. Rory wasn't lucky enough to have a family lawyer that got her out of doing 300 hours of community service after they stole a yacht together.

"I will work at the Dragonfly for a while, which basically means all day." Lorelai explained. Jess finally delivered their food and they all started to eat.

"So, what's the agenda today?" Jess asked Rory and she repeated the list that she told Lorelai and Logan.

"Hey Jess, how about a raise?" Luke asked sarcastically and Jess took his cue to go back to work.

Once the breakfast rush was over, Jess headed over to the bookstore where he had planned to meet Rory. Everyone he passed in this crazy town continued to stare at him to see if he was really there or whether he had changed at all. Jess glared back at them all. He started to run towards the bookstore so less people may notice his presence. By the time Jess got to the bookstore, he was out of breath and certainly not one to run. Jess waved at Andrew before finding Rory reading a book down one of the aisles.

"Hey, they have some amazing books here." Rory greeted him and Jess pressed her up against the wall before he kissed her in greeting. "I don't think we can do this here. This is what this afternoon is for. Why are you out of breath?" Rory glanced around although it appeared that the bookstore was empty with the exception of Andrew.

"Will you shut up so I can kiss you?" Jess pleaded and Rory promised for this afternoon. Instead, he picked up a random book and started to read.

"So, what are you really doing here? You didn't come all the way from Philadelphia to see me, did you?" Rory questioned.

"I came here to see you. Why are you so paranoid?" Jess retorted and went back to reading his book.

Logan Huntzberger was the last of the group to leave Luke's Diner that morning. He watched Lorelai leave for the Dragonfly Inn. He watched, with disdain,

Rory and Jess leaving separately knowing that they would meet up soon enough. Despite all of that, Logan was enjoying the bustle of the diner and Luke's conversation. Once he had finished his cup of coffee and pancakes, Logan left the diner to revisit the sites of Stars Hollow. There weren't many but the town was damn proud of its slinky. The stores varied from The Chat Club to Kim's Antiques. Logan had no desire for antiques or to own a cat. He decided to walk around the town and saw Rory and Jess leaving the bookstore far away. Rory waved at him from across the square and Logan politely waved back. Seeing Jess' arm around Rory, Logan turned on his heel and headed over back to the diner. It was emptier now and Logan took up the same stool from that morning.

"Hey Logan, did you have a nice walk around?" Luke greeted him.

"Yes, I did but there isn't all that much to do around here. I was wondering if I could help you out here. You wouldn't need to pay me a cent but it'd be something to do." Logan offered and Luke considered this. Lane was awfully anxious about leaving Steve and Kwan with Brian for the day.

She knew that her sons were quite a handful.

"Sure, why not? I'll let Lane go home so you'll have more to do." Luke tossed Logan an apron and then approached Lane.

"Hey Lane, why don't you take the day off? Logan's willing to work here just for the day. Luke suggested to Lane and she contemplated this for a minute. They desperately needed extra money while Zach was on tour. However, Lane was exhausted and nervous about her sons. She eventually caved in and left the diner for the day with the promise that she would be paid as if she had actually worked that day. Logan was grateful for this rare opportunity and headed back behind the counter. Luke briefly explained the system and how everything worked backstage. There was still the occasional customer but it wasn't hugely busy until lunchtime. Logan enjoyed refilling coffee and delivering plates of food to the few customers that were in the diner. He knew that if his family found out what he was doing at this moment, they might have a heart attack. It was good to meet new people although quite a few recognized him from his first visit to Stars Hollow with the Hay Bale Maze. At around midday, customers started to come into the diner and the pace picked up rapidly. Everyone ordered so fast and Logan had troubles finding which plate went to which table. Rory and Jess finally arrived back at the diner at around 1pm and Luke became frustrated with his tardiness.

"Jess! Where have you been? You were meant to be back here at midday when customers came in." Luke shouted as Rory sat down at the counter.

"You told me to be here at lunchtime and it's lunchtime. Why the hell is _he _working here?" Jess sneered as Logan filled up a cup of coffee for Rory. Jess stormed behind the counter and started to take plates to various tables.

"I'm helping out here!" Logan justified as he continued to do Lane's job. Kirk entered the diner at that point and also sat down at the counter.

"Excuse me! I would like a ham on rye to go." Kirk requested and Logan wrote down his order before giving the piece of paper to Caesar. Logan decided to turn to Rory.

"Are you hungry? Did you want anything other than coffee?" Logan asked and Rory shook her head in response.

"We just had pizza! Leave her alone!" Jess shouted and Logan raised his hands in defeat.

"How was I to know that? You know what, never mind." Logan slammed the pad of paper down on the bench.

"It's true, Jess and I just came back from getting pizza so I'm good with coffee." Rory replied and Logan continued about waiting on the tables at the diner. Logan's phone suddenly started to ring and Luke pointed to the 'No Cell Phones' sign but Logan ignored him.

Logan: Huntzberger here.

Robert: Hello Logan, it's Robert here. How's your weekend so far?

Logan: Hello there, Robert! I'm having a jolly weekend. What about you?

Robert: I've been working on this case all weekend. I just got back from visiting the courthouse and so we've sent the summons off to Cooper. He should be getting the document on Monday morning. Won't that be a pleasant surprise?

Logan: Yes it will. Thank you so much for doing this. I'll let Ms Gilmore know.

Robert: Rory? She's a fine woman. She would've made you a good wife.

Logan: Yeah, listen I have to go. No cell phones are allowed in here. Thanks for the update. I'll let _Rory Gilmore _know.

Robert: No problem. I'll see you in Court.

Logan: Goodbye.

Robert: Bye.

Logan closed his phone and quickly apologized to Luke. He informed Rory of the same update from Robert. She seemed a little excited and nostalgic that this lawsuit was starting up. Rory had never been on juror duty but this was something law-related that she had started. Well, Cooper caused the problem in the first place and she simply overreacted. Only one of Emily's former maids actually sued _her _for wrongful dismissal.

The lunch rush finished around 2pm and Logan started to clean up. Jess led Rory up the old, empty, Unabomber apartment that was formerly Luke's. This left Logan to clean up the tables and dishes, which he didn't mind.

"Oh my God! What happened to this place? This just goes to show you that I haven't been here for quite a while." Rory exclaimed as she looked around. It only had the bare minimum essentials in the entire apartment.

"Luke moved into your old house. That's what happened. Do you remember Luke's Ten Minute Rule?" Rory nodded out of nostalgia from the good old days. "That guy is a jerk." Jess stated in a lame effort to start a conversation with Rory.

"He didn't do anything wrong." She defended him. Rory couldn't bring herself to insult Logan after everything they had been through and all his help with this forthcoming lawsuit.

"I'm sorry." Jess whispered as he stared to slowly step towards Rory.

"It's not me that you need to apologise to." Rory retorted. "Should we regroup? Just start over again." Jess and Rory linked hands, as they got closer together. Jess reached down to steal a kiss and Rory reciprocated. As they kissed, Jess started to lead Rory back towards his made up bed. As Rory felt herself fall back onto the comfortable bed, the memories of what had almost happened in Kyle's bedroom many years ago at that party came flooding back to her. Tears pricked at her eyes once more and suddenly, she didn't know if she wanted to do this.

"Jess," Rory whimpered as Jess started to kiss her neck. This had never happened with her and Jess before. "Jess!" Rory screamed as she pushed him off of her. The tears started to flood from her eyes now as she sat in a ball on the bed. The apartment door was slammed open and Luke and Logan entered the apartment.

"What's going on?" Luke shouted and Rory grabbed her jacket before rushing out of the apartment. Jess slid his fingers through his hair while standing awkwardly, watching Luke and Logan watch him. Logan quickly excused himself from the situation and went back downstairs to the diner. Luke closed the door behind him and stood in front of Jess with his arms crossed. "You never answered my question." Jess whispered as he sat back down on the bed.

"Did she say it? It helps if you ask someone whether they want to sleep with you. Do I need to give you the Safe Sex Talk? This really isn't a very comfortable area for me to discuss but go out and buy contraception for crying out loud." Luke rambled on while Jess went over to the bedside table drawer. He pulled out a condom packet and waved it in front of Luke's face and Luke sighed.

Rory ran through the diner, past Logan calling for her, out the door and found her mother walking towards the diner in the middle of the street. She noticed her daughter crying and led her home. Once they were home, Lorelai sat Rory down on the couch and asked her what was going on.

"I don't know what's wrong with me!" Rory cried into Lorelai's shoulder.

"Honey, I'm sure that there is nothing wrong with you. What happened at Luke's?" Lorelai asked but tears continued to flow out of Rory's blue eyes.

"We were upstairs and… and… it seemed like in Kyle's bedroom and… he wanted… to h-h-have sex." Rory choked out. "It was all too fast and I feel horrible. Too fast. Wanted things to go slower. It's been so long since we've been together. I don't want this to happen now." Rory continued to sob as Lorelai stroked her daughter in comfort. It didn't seem to matter that she was starving, her daughter's well being was much more important. This was what she had worried about for far too long.

That night, Jess had insisted on coming back to the Crap Shack with Logan and Luke to apologise to Rory. Jess had already apologized to Logan and this seemed to be the only way that Logan would agree to Jess' coming at all. Rory had stayed in her bedroom for the rest of the day while Lorelai was forced to go back to the Dragonfly Inn. Rory was the only one at home, in her bedroom, when the men arrived. Jess headed straight for the kitchen to make a cup of coffee before he went to see Rory. With a cup of coffee in hand, Jess knocked on her door. She whimpered a quiet 'come in', expecting her mother but received Jess instead. Jess handed the coffee to Rory before closing the door behind him. He took the chair next to the desk and sat down.

"I'm sorry. I thought that was what you wanted to do when we came up with going to Luke's apartment." Jess apologised. Rory sat up on her bed with the cup of coffee.

"Maybe at first but I think I'm more of an emotional wreck than I let on. It's just that we've never done… that. It should be more special instead of wasting time and I didn't feel ready. I wanted to take things slowly." Rory explained.

"Slower than nine years?" Jess raised an eyebrow and Rory sighed.

"We haven't been together for nine years. We kissed at Truncheon seven years ago. Can we please just take things slowly? I promise to let you know when I'm ready." Rory promised and Jess seemed happy at this. On the other side of the closed door, Luke, Logan and a newly arrived Lorelai were listening to the resolution. Lorelai still worried that Jess would take off in the middle of the night and Rory would be hurt again. It seemed to happen so often these days.

**A/N: Ok, so this is a long chapter and kind of rambling and dramatic. I decided to end it here because it's really long. I also want to get started on this lawsuit and write the court scene. Hopefully that will be a lot of fun! Please review! I love reviews! **


	20. A Dark Past & the PreTrial

Chapter Twenty – A Dark Past and the Pre-trial

**A/N: I officially post this chapter and all future chapters/stories as LiteratiLady. Palforpolkadots exists no more! Thank you all for your reviews and adding this story to alerts etc. Thank you especially to Anna Luna who suggested a letter combination for separators. I came up with NRMW like the title of the story, which works. I like writing in Italics. The Italics are obviously in Jess' POV. That part is Jess and Cooper's past in New York. I don't think that 'patheticness' is a word but I couldn't think of anything else. What I do know about the American legal system is what I've learnt from Jodi Picoult, the Good Wife and Wikipedia. I realised I made an error and wrote a bench trial instead of trial by jury. It has been fixed now. There will be a jury and it won't be a bench trial. Oops. **

It was like any other day at the Connecticut Daily News after Rory Gilmore left. Cooper Huntzberger arrived at the office and saw his entire staff watch him to see if he was in a good mood or not. That morning, he was in a great mood and had gotten a good night's sleep. His Personal Assistant, Melanie, handed him his stack of mail. As he opened a particularly suspicious envelope, it hit him like a ton of bricks all over again. It was the Summons to Court from a Rory Gilmore. She had clearly not backed out of this and had no intention to. In the course of an entire weekend, Cooper had completely forgotten about this lawsuit and the dinner with the Gilmores on Friday. Cooper called in Rory's friend, Angela, to ask her what she knew of this. A timid Angela arrived in his office and sat down in the uncomfortable chair across from his desk.

"Angela, what do you know of this?" Cooper slapped the summons down on the table and Angela carefully picked it up. She hid a smile as she read the paper and claimed that she knew nothing of it. She definitely wasn't lying and hadn't spoken to Rory in quite a while. She was obviously doing this, as quietly as possible but with a Newspaper Magnet such as a member of the Huntzberger family, it would not stay quiet for very long. Angela was excused from Cooper's office and went quietly back to her desk. Cooper quickly got on the phone and called someone.

"Hey, it's me, Cooper Huntzberger. Do you think you could do me a favour in court?" Cooper asked on the phone.

NRMW NRMW NRMW

"Who needs pie besides me?" Lorelai asked out loud. Lorelai, Rory, Jess, Logan and Luke had all had dinner at the diner because that was where the food was. Luke was also tired and couldn't be bothered to cook but also didn't want to face Lorelai's and Rory's take out habits. Jess, on the other hand, was more used to their take out choices and had served it to them on several occasions. Luke brought around a round of hamburgers to everyone when Jess' phone started to ring. Luke pointed to the famous No Cell Phones sign at which Jess rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Jess said before he answered his phone. A look of panic crossed his face and he excused himself from the table. Jess stepped out into the dark town. "Why are you calling me? I can't do you any favours, especially not this one. I can't let her find out about this. I'm going to support Rory in this case. I've known her for ten years, ever since I moved away from New York. I'm sorry but I'm staying out of this." Jess slammed his phone shut and kicked the diner wall out of frustration, completely oblivious to the party watching him from inside. Jess smiled up at them when he returned inside as if nothing were wrong. He ate his burger in silence and answered any question in a monosyllabic word. Once they had all finished, Rory offered for her and Jess to go get the pie and meet everyone back at home. Logan decided to go straight to the Dragonfly Inn instead. They walked over in silence and eventually Rory stopped in the middle of the town square.

"Who was on the phone?" Rory asked and Jess stopped also. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"No one important." Jess muttered and kept on walking but Rory stopped him.

"Please tell me what's going on. I promise not to get mad." Rory insisted and Jess just sighed.

"You will get mad." Jess stated and tried to keep walking to Weston's Bakery.

"Jess," Rory sighed and Jess sat down on the nearest park bench where Rory joined him.

"That was an old friend on the phone who was asking for a favour. It may or may not have to do with your lawsuit." Jess replied vaguely and Rory rolled her eyes. She needed details and couldn't deal with someone being vague, especially when it had to do with suing Cooper.

"Was Cooper on the phone?" Rory asked and Jess nodded slowly. "Why?" Rory tried to stay calm but she felt herself shake with either sadness or madness.

"He wanted me to testify for him but I said that I would stay out of it because I'm with you. I'm staying out of this whole lawsuit but I may come and watch the show in Court." Jess explained but Rory was still confused about why Cooper would call _Jess _of all people. As far as she knew, they had no history. He even made fun of him when he found her Pro/Con list about him.

"How do you know each other?" Rory asked and Jess told her that they were friendly in New York. Rory's jaw dropped in shock and she suddenly stood up and started to walk over to Weston's. Jess quickly followed suit.

"It's not like that! I've testified for him before which is probably why he asked me to testify again. We always promised that we'd look out for each other." Jess justified but Rory was starting to freak out.

"How do you know him?" Rory demanded and Jess sighed.

_I was only fourteen years old when I committed my first crime. It was nothing big and I was bored. Liz had her boyfriend over at the house and I snuck out before he could hit me once more. For all I knew, the police were searching for me and eventually they found me. My crimes started small like shoplifting chocolate and candy but escalated, as I grew older. I met him one night in a dark alleyway. Talk about a cliché, right? He was bleeding and wounded particularly badly and was obviously another victim of a gang attack. Gang attacks happened a lot in dark alleys in New York. I dragged him out into the streets in hopes for a doctor to walk by or an ambulance. There was no one in sight and the closest telephone was in the next district. He seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I tore my shirt to shreds and tied the shreds around the wounds. This helped to block the wounds so no more blood would spill out. I had managed to save his life for that night. He told me that his name was Cooper Huntzberger and his uncle could get him out of anything. I hadn't heard of the Huntzbergers before and that name didn't pop up again until I showed you _The Subsect _with that Yale Blonde Dick Guy. Anyways, I found that he had a cell phone and used that to call the ambulance. Unfortunately for me, the police and my mother arrived before the ambulance and I left Cooper bleeding on the side of the street. _

_I didn't see him again for a total of six months. It was the dead of winter and I snuck out again in the middle of the night. I saw a police car driving past the street with the sirens going and the lights flashing. I was intrigued when they weren't after me and so I followed them. It was a little harder on a skateboard but I eventually caught up to them. It had turned out that a woman had been shot and the crime scene was a mess. I found Cooper once again covered with blood in a dark alleyway. This time, the blood was not his own._

"_You've got to stop hanging out in dark alleys. I won't always be here to rescue you." I told him sarcastically although I had fully meant it. _

"_It was an accident. I didn't kill her. My uncle will get me out of this and so will our lawyer. He's a damn good lawyer and I'm a damn good screw up." Cooper told me and I sighed at his feebleness. It was strange that Urban Apathy still existed in large cities like New York. _

"_You should meet my mother. You have a lot in common with her." I joked but he didn't find this quite as amusing. I suppose no one would, including me. The police found us and arrested him but I was taken in for questioning because I didn't have any blood on my hands. I couldn't tell them much and all I was in trouble for was staying out past curfew. What kind of hick place has a curfew for teenagers? We weren't drunk and rowdy but just hanging out in a dark place. _

_Later that week, said 'damn good lawyer' called me up and it turned out that Cooper had asked me to testify for him. I did this and my mother prohibited me from seeing him ever again. I never found out the verdict of the case but it would seem that he got off with nothing but a guilty conscience. I continued to bump into him every now and then. We broke into a library a few times and I haven't seen him ever since I left New York to come to Stars Hollow. I have no idea how he got my mobile number but he's all-powerful now so it couldn't have been too hard. After all, how many Jess Marianos are there in the world? _

Rory breathed out after hearing this story. It was a fairly dark past that Cooper had been carrying around with him and it suddenly made sense that he would call Jess up. It still was a mystery as to how Cooper got Jess' number, especially if he didn't have a mobile phone when they were together in New York.

"So maybe that six degrees of separation thing is true." Rory stated as she tried to wrap her mind around the story that Jess had just told. Rory and Jess went to go get the pie at Weston's.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Jess enquired and Rory just smiled. Tomorrow was the pre-trial of the lawsuit and Rory was a little nervous although she wouldn't admit this.

"I suppose that I will have to be." Rory answered vaguely as they reached her childhood home.

NRMW NRMW NRMW

The sunshine streamed through the window upon Rory Gilmore's sleeping face. She groaned in irritation and rolled over to the other side. Rory opened her eyes to find Jess sitting next to the bed and smiling at her.

"Boo!" He smirked when Rory screamed at this. Lorelai quickly rushed into her room with Luke following closely.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked.

"Casper here scared me. He's not always the friendliest ghost in town." Rory explained as she rubbed at her bleary eyes. Rory shooed everyone out of her room and decided to get dressed for court. She picked out a simple blue dress and a darker blue cardigan to go over the top. When Rory entered the kitchen, she found Luke making pancakes. Rory grabbed a plate of pancakes and poured maple syrup everywhere before sitting down next to Jess.

"So, are you ready for the big day? We have to be at the court at 9am sharp!" Lorelai informed everyone.

"It's not really a big day. It's just the pre-trial. Did we ever decide on a jury trial or a bench trial?" Rory enquired.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Logan when he gets here. He'll be here at about 8:20 leaving 10 minutes for panic mode." Lorelai told her which did not ease Rory's anxiety a bit. It was only 7:30 in the morning and she was amazed that she could be up that early. After she was fired, Rory took the opportunity to sleep in a little bit more than she had been able to in years. Once everyone had finished their pancakes, there was a race for the showers. Rory decided to go and read on her own in her old room. There were many things that hadn't changed in her room but the paint was definitely fading. Being back here, made her nostalgic for the good old days of when she was a teenager. She was always the adult in the household though while her mother could be very childlike. Lorelai's marriage and pregnancy had almost forced her to grow up as she couldn't frolic anymore.

NRMW NRMW NRMW

They were greeted by Logan's lawyer, Robert Pennel, outside of the courthouse. Logan introduced him to Rory's family and they were all led inside. Rory took a seat up the front of the court alongside Robert. Cooper had already arrived with his lawyer, a sombre looking man.

"Oh good, it's Mr MacNamara. He couldn't argue a case if his life depended on it." Robert whispered to Rory, who looked over at the aging lawyer that sat with her former boss.

"Are you sure about that?" Rory asked and Robert nodded. Rory looked back to the audience and found that there were quite a few people who had come to watch this case, including the media. Rory sighed in irritation at the presence of the press. She hadn't known if there had been any build up to this case or whether the public had known about this at all. That was one other downside of being fired from a newspaper office. Rory hadn't had the heart to look at any newspapers, including The New York Times, ever since she got fired. There wasn't any press building up at her home and so she naturally assumed that this was going through as quietly as possible. Apparently she was wrong. There were only a few people in the audience. The Huntzberger family arrived in the courthouse and sat along with Rory's family and friends. Honor passed up a small note to Rory. It simply read:

_To Rory,_

_Good luck! I'm always here for you and Cooper has always been a jerk! We'll be watching and supporting you. _

_Love, Honor (and the rest of the Huntzberger clan (with the exception of Coopie))_

Rory looked back at Honor and smiled at her in thanks. Having Honor's support made her a little better at going against a Huntzberger. Robert quickly tapped Rory on the shoulder to face the front. A man at the side of the courtroom stood up to announce the arrival of the judge.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the Honourable Judge Daniel Richmonds." The man announced and a middle-aged man in a wig and gown walked through to his platform. He requested for everyone to be seated and everyone sat in their chairs. Robert continued to stand and started to present the case.

"Your Honour, we are here because Ms Rory Gilmore has decided to sue Mr Cooper Huntzberger for wrongful termination. Ms Rory Gilmore was working at the Connecticut Daily News and she has always been a hard worker. Mr Huntzberger here harassed Ms Gilmore into going on a date with him. When everything did not go as well as planned, he fired her. He had no good solid reason to fire Ms Gilmore so the plaintiff is seeking compensation." Robert said and sat back down while Cooper's lawyer stood up. Rory couldn't think of what defence his lawyer would've come up with that. All the evidence clearly pointed to him being the bad guy in this game.

"Your Honour, while all that may be true, Mr Huntzberger found Ms Gilmore's attitude and performance not up to the standards which he set. Mr Huntzberger had always had the intention and ability to fire Ms Gilmore with good reason." Mr MacNamara started when Robert objected.

"Objection! What reasons?" Robert boomed.

"I was getting there. Did you hear me object in your opening statement? No. Sit back down Pennel." Mr MacNamara retorted and the judge overruled the objection.

"May we please remember that this is a Pre-Trial to decide what the arguments will be in the actual trial? Now Mr MacNamara, please continue." Judge Richmonds said and sat back.

"Yes, thank you Your Honour. As I was saying, Mr Huntzberger had long term plans to fire Ms Gilmore based on her lack of journalistic skills. He claims that Ms Gilmore is a poor writer and researcher and a drain on the company. For this, Mr Huntzberger feels completely justified in firing her." Mr MacNamara finished. Rory's eyes widened with shock and what they were saying.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about you?" Rory stood and pointed at Cooper and then turned to Mitchum, "or are we suddenly talking about your lack of faith in my journalistic abilities now?" Rory accidently blurted out and suddenly reddened with the realisation of what she had just done.

"Mr Pennel, control your client!" the judge ordered and Rory immediately sat down.

"I apologise, Your Honour. It won't happen again." Rory apologised and the judge nodded. Robert decided to stand up again.

"Your Honour, we would like to petition for a trial by jury. We believe that this will be the best way to publicise the case and expose this Huntzberger for the lying, scheming man that he is." Robert declared and Mr MacNamara stood up to protest this.

"Excuse me, Your Honour, we think it would be best for a bench trial. This lawsuit could possibly ruin the reputation of the Huntzberger Publishing Group so we would like to keep the public and the media out of this case." Mr MacNamara announced and Robert scoffed.

"Oh, I hope it does ruin their reputation." Robert smirked at this.

"Your Honour, we believe that a jury would be biased against the reputation of the Huntzberger Publishing Group and may ignore the evidence entirely. They might make a decision based on disbelief of bad behaviour and entirely on ignorance." Mr MacNamara insisted.

"Well, isn't that your job? To prove that he didn't do anything wrong? That he doesn't deserve to provide compensation to Ms Gilmore." Robert shot at Mr MacNamara.

"I think a trial by jury would be best for all involved." The judge announced and banged his gabble to enforce this motion. "Well done, Mr Pennel, you've won your first motion in this case. We'll start choosing a jury tomorrow. Let's hope you can do just as well for the case. Court is adjourned for today. Thank you everyone." With that, the judge left the courthouse and Rory breathed a large sigh of relief.

"Are you sure that a trial by jury is the best way to do this? I would like to do this as quietly as possible." Rory pleaded.

"Rory, with a case like this against a well-known company, you'll want publicity and as much exposure as possible on this." Robert assured her. "I'll see you in a week or so at 9am sharp." Robert left them all to go and collect everything for the court case. Lorelai, Luke, Logan and Jess all approached her but the little gate separated them all. Rory opened the gate and hugged her mother tightly.

"That was so scary!" Rory exclaimed as her mother stroked her back. "Can we please just go home?" Rory looked between Logan and her mother and told everyone else to go on ahead. Rory stood in front of Logan and looked at him. "Logan, thank you for everything. Thank you for helping me with this and setting up Robert to represent me. I know that this will ruin your family's company's reputation and I'm sorry about that." Rory thanked him and he smiled as he patted her arm.

"Ace, Rory, do you hear any of us complaining? It's Cooper who ruined the reputation and my dad is… well he's Mitchum Huntzberger. You're also very welcome. If you need any help, legal or otherwise, I'm always here and my door's open. Shall we go back to Stars Hollow?" Logan suggested and they left the courthouse.

**A/N: That was so much fun writing the court scene. I hope you all enjoyed that. In the next chapter, I'll probably skip forward to the trial. I don't know when it will be up but I will start writing it tomorrow. **

**Please review! **


	21. Trial and Judgement

Chapter Twenty-One – Trial and Judgement

**A/N: Thank you all who reviewed and added this to their alerts etc. Also, thank you all for being so patient to wait for this chapter. I know it's taken a while but I wanted to put the whole trial in one chapter. On the bright side, it's rather long. It is a little repetitive for a while. I hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls but I do own Cooper, Angela, the lawyers, the judge, the other witnesses etc. **

Today was the really big day. A court date had been set, the jury had been selected, evidence organised, witnesses called and lawyers prepared. Everything and everyone was ready and in place. Rory Gilmore wasn't sure that she was ready just yet. Something felt wrong about this. She was sitting in the foyer of the large courthouse. The press were outside with cameras, microphones, pens and paper. She missed being a journalist and wasn't sure that she was cut out for the legal system. The seed of doubt had been planted. Her mother was sitting next to her. Rory was mostly worried about her mother's stress levels. This was a lot to deal with and it wasn't even her mother's lawsuit. Her mother seemed to always be pregnant at the wrong and most stressful times. It must have been hard enough to become a teenage mother and deal with biology finals. Now her daughter was all grown up and suing her former boss. This lawsuit would almost follow a criminal procedure, which for some reason was very logical. No one knew how long this case would go for. How long would the jury contemplate the amount of damages that Rory deserved? She hated not knowing what was going to happen and how long it would take. Rory couldn't jump into the unknown whenever it was demanded of her. This lawsuit could ruin her chances of getting a job at The New York Times. Could this lawsuit possibly ruin all her hopes and dreams? She could be stuck at the Connecticut Daily News forever while everyone else went onto other exciting newspapers like the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle or the Providence Journal Bulletin. Logan, Jess, Luke and Robert all finally arrived with cups of coffee, as Rory was about to experience her panic attack out loud. Luckily, Logan and Jess had started to get along a little better. It was probably because she was the common factor.

"Hey Rory, how are you doing?" Robert enquired and Rory informed him that she was a little nervous. "Oh, there's nothing to be nervous about at all!" Rory didn't feel convinced and was sure that she would laugh about it once it was all over. Cooper and his lawyer, Mr MacNamara, entered the courthouse and headed straight into the courtroom. "I suppose that's our cue." Robert led them all into the courtroom, following Cooper.

"Give them hell." Jess whispered in Rory's ear and this relaxed her a little. Lorelai gave Rory a quick hug in support before she sat down in the audience area. Logan, Jess and Luke followed suit and Rory went to sit with Robert at the front. Other people started to enter into the courtroom and sat in the audience area. Rory could feel everyone's eyes watching her and she was not an attention seeking type of person. Rory vowed never to do this again unless absolutely necessary. This made her wonder, was this lawsuit necessary? Yes, it probably was and she would finally fight back against the Huntzberger family. Of course she had the help of a Huntzberger and the support of the Huntzbergers who had either loved her or hated her. That didn't matter any more and Rory was determined to finish what she had started. The bailiff asked everyone to stand for the same judge from the Pre-Trial. There was no backing out now. The judge ordered everyone to sit and they all seated. 'Let the games begin' Rory thought.

Like with everything, legal, the prosecution started. Robert stood up and started the same way he had started the Pre-Trial. The majority of the population probably weren't watching the Pre Trial so the opening statements had to be repeated for the press to report.

"Your Honour, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the press, everyone, I would like to introduce you to the plaintiff here. She is an innocent woman who used to work at the Connecticut Daily News." Robert started. 'Innocent unless it came to yachts,' Rory thought cheekily. "She is a Yale graduate and former chief-editor of the Yale Daily News. This woman has done no wrong and was unexpectedly fired from her job at the Connecticut Daily News about a month ago. A member of the elite Huntzberger family, Mr Cooper Huntzberger, fired her for no good reason. Mr Huntzberger influenced Ms Gilmore to go on a date with him and when that didn't go as well as he'd hoped, he fired her. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am asking you to find this man guilty and make him pay for Ms Gilmore's loss. Thank you." Robert returned to his seat while Mr MacNamara stood up and turned to face the audience.

"Your Honour, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please take a look at this Ms Gilmore. She is a young, independent, capable, beautiful woman who can probably take care of herself just fine. She has no husband or children to speak of. It's no wonder that Mr Huntzberger would want to date her." The audience giggled a little at this and Jess clenched his fists. "Mr Huntzberger has a job to do like the rest of us. He also had a good reason to fire Ms Gilmore, which Mr Pennel failed to inform you. Ms Gilmore was not performing her duties to the standard, which Mr Huntzberger wished. This was the reason that she was fired. It has nothing to do with the date that ended badly. Mr Huntzberger had been planning to fire her for a while and was waiting to do this at the right time. It is entirely possible that this was why he asked her to dinner. He wanted to politely let her know that she was out of a job but chickened out. Mr Cooper Huntzberger is completely innocent of wrongful termination and I hope you will find that the evidence represents this." Mr MacNamara finally finished and sat back down next to Cooper.

Robert Pennel took out a piece of paper from his fairly thick folder. He stood and approached the judge to place the paper in front of him.

"I would like to enter Ms Gilmore's contract into evidence as Exhibit A." Robert announced and the judge handed the evidence to the jury for them to look at. Robert went back to collect newspaper clippings from his folder and submitted them into evidence as well.

"Here, I would also like to show the jury, Ms Gilmore's writing from the Yale Daily News and the Connecticut Daily News. If you will notice that Ms Gilmore is an excellent writer and actually does reach the standards that Mr Huntzberger sets." Robert returned to his seat while Mr MacNamara was sitting in his seat, seething.

Angela was brought in as the first witness. Rory was so excited to see her once again but Angela looked really nervous about testifying. Robert Pennel was asked to cross-examine her first. Robert asked Angela to swear on the bible that she would tell the truth.

"Will you please state your full name and address for the court?" Robert requested.

"Angela Featherstone, 14B Ragsdale Street." Angela replied obediently.

"How do you know Ms Rory Gilmore?" Robert asked and Angela told the court that she is Rory's friend and works at the Connecticut Daily News. "Did Ms Gilmore ever confide in you?" Angela replied that she was Rory's confidante. Rory could feel her world falling now as she expected for Angela to tell everyone everything that she had told Angela. She knew that Angela would not do this unless she was asked to.

"Were you aware of the relationship between Ms Gilmore and the Huntzberger family?" Robert asked.

"Yes." Angela answered simply but regrettably, she was asked to expand on this. "Rory mentioned that she used to date a Logan Huntzberger at Yale University." Angela was interrupted by an objection from Mr MacNamara that the judge sustained. "This was when Logan had taken over the newspaper before it was given to Mr Cooper Huntzberger. She also told me about her brief internship at the Stamford Eagle Gazette and that Cooper liked her and had asked her out several times." Angela concluded and Robert Pennel nodded.

"Did you ever read any of Rory's articles?" Robert asked.

"Yes, all of them. She always asked me to read over them and she read over mine." Angela answered, relieved that they had changed topics from Rory's love life to her writing. After all, isn't what they were all here for?

"In your opinion, what did you think of her writing? Did she write well or not so well?" Robert asked.

"Rory's always been an excellent writer. I read some of her pieces from the Yale Daily News and those were also excellent pieces, much like those from the CDN." Angela answered and Robert returned to his seat claiming that he had no further questions for Angela Featherstone.

Mr MacNamara stood up and approached Angela Featherstone. He made her feel nervous in comparison to Mr Pennel. Angela swallowed deeply in preparation for his cross-examination.

"Ms Featherstone, were you aware if Ms Gilmore had any sexual relations to Mr Cooper Huntzberger?" Mr MacNamara asked and this took the whole court by surprise.

"Objection! Relevance?" Robert called out as he stood up.

"Sustained." The judge banged his gabble and Mr MacNamara was forced to go on.

"Do you believe that Ms Gilmore ever had a period of time at the Connecticut Daily News where she did not perform up to the required standards? Perhaps if she was tired a lot or if something personal was irritating her, did her writing ever slip for a while that may have caused Mr Huntzberger to worry about whether she would be a drain on the company?" Mr MacNamara asked and Angela seemed a little confused at the length of this question. It was a fairly easy question and she knew the answer.

"No." Angela answered simply.

"Do you believe that Ms Gilmore deserved to be fired? Do you think that Mr Huntzberger was justified to fire her?" Mr MacNamara asked and Angela started to get irritated at his insinuations against her friend.

"No and no." Angela said. Mr MacNamara could see that he wasn't getting anywhere with this witness.

"No further questions." Mr MacNamara stated and returned to his seat next to Cooper. Angela left the stand a little shakily and Rory was disappointed that she couldn't hug her friend in comfort. The court was recessed for 10 minutes and the judge left the court.

"Can I please go and see Angela?" Rory asked her lawyer but he denied her access to her friend until after the case was over.

The next witness was as unexpected as Angela. Doyle McMaster sat in the witness box when everyone arrived back at the courtroom. Rory spun around and spied Paris in the audience next to her mother. She also saw her grandparents sitting with the Huntzberger family. Rory waved at all her friends and family before sitting back down next to Robert. She had no idea that Paris and Doyle were back or that Doyle was called in to testify. Doyle was asked to swear on the bible as well as provide his full name and address for the court.

"Mr McMaster, how do you know the plaintiff Ms Rory Gilmore?" Robert asked and Rory realised that she was getting tired of these questions and this was only their second witness.

"I was Ms Gilmore's editor at the Yale Daily News. Also, my wife and her are good friends." Doyle answered and seemed excited as he said the word 'wife'.

"So, you've read and edited Rory's work?" Doyle nodded at this and said that Rory was an exceptional writer.

"What do you know of the Huntzbergers?" Robert asked.

"I don't know Cooper Huntzberger but I do know Mr Logan Huntzberger and his father Mr Mitchum Huntzberger." Doyle replied.

"Was there ever a time when you would've fired Ms Gilmore if you could? Did she ever not perform up to the required standards?" Robert enquired and Mr MacNamara objected, obviously wanting to ask this question himself.

"Withdrawn. No further questions." Robert stated as he headed back to the table at the front of the court, next to Rory.

Mr MacNamara stood up and approached Doyle McMaster. Unlike Angela, Doyle didn't feel intimidated by the aging lawyer, Mr MacNamara.

"Have you ever had a relationship with Ms Gilmore?" Mr MacNamara asked, for lack of a better question to start with.

"Objection!" Robert called out and stood up. Mr MacNamara withdrew his question and started to think about any other questions that he could ask this man. There was only one question to ask which had been the entire point of this lawsuit.

"Mr McMaster, did Ms Gilmore ever not perform up to the required standard? Was there ever a time that you would've considered firing Ms Gilmore if you could?" Mr MacNamara asked and prayed that Mr Pennel wouldn't object and steal the key question. He didn't and Mr MacNamara was relieved.

"No and no." Doyle answered simply. Mr MacNamara was wondering if anyone other than Cooper Huntzberger would fire her. He clearly wasn't going to win this case and they were wasting court resources. By the looks of Ms Gilmore's resume, this should've been an open-and-shut case. He was growing weary of this similar cross-examining.

"No further questions." Mr MacNamara mumbled to the judge and sat back down next to his client. "We're screwed." He whispered to Cooper, who nodded in agreement.

The next witness was someone that Rory didn't know particularly well. He was another reporter at the Connecticut Daily News and was a few years older than Rory. Robert stood up and approached the slightly older reporter at the witness stand.

"Please state your name and address for the court." Robert requested in a monotonous voice. Even he was getting bored of the same rounds of questioning complete and total strangers who all seem to love Rory Gilmore.

"Alexander Stewart at 12 Milson Street." Alex replied and this was recorded.

"How well do you know Ms Gilmore?" Robert enquired and Alex replied that he didn't know Rory all that well although they had to work on a story together. Mr MacNamara tried to object to this but it was overruled.

"What was your opinion of her writing?" Robert enquired.

"I've always thought that Rory, I mean Ms Gilmore, was an excellent writer and a great reporter. She's great at what she does." Alex answered and Mr MacNamara sighed loudly at this.

"Do you believe that Ms Gilmore deserved to be fired?" Robert enquired and Alex said that Rory didn't deserve to be fired. "How does Mr Huntzberger treat his reporters?" Robert asked.

"I always thought that we were treated fairly until Ms Gilmore was fired. We all knew that she was an excellent journalist." Alexander said and Rory felt happy that everyone seemed to think she was a great journalist despite what Mitchum said all those years ago.

"How have things changed since Ms Gilmore was unexpectedly fired?" Robert enquired. He was starting to change his questions at long last.

"Everything has become much more tense and stressful. Mr Huntzberger now yells at us and is always in a bad mood. He rewrites everything and then rewrites his rewrites. There are several other reporters that he has threatened to fire as well." Alex explained and this was a shock to everyone in the courtroom. Back in the audience area, Logan hid his head in his hands, as he couldn't believe what had happened ever since he handed over the company to his cousin. It was bad enough that there was a lawsuit going on against him and he had helped to pursue it. Cooper would never be trusted again with a company.

"Nothing further." Robert announced as he went back to his seat. Mr MacNamara was having trouble thinking of questions. He had clearly lost this lawsuit. Everyone loved Rory Gilmore and the only person crazy enough to fire her for a bad date was his client. She obviously wanted justice and to ruin his career.

Mr MacNamara paced back and forth in front of Alexander Stewart. He eventually stopped and turned to face this new witness.

"So, Mr Stewart, was Mr Huntzberger in this bad temper before he fired Ms Gilmore?" Mr MacNamara asked this question, hoping for some history.

"No, he wasn't. It started on the day that Ms Gilmore was fired." Alex replied and Mr MacNamara sighed. He really wasn't getting anywhere with this case. It shouldn't have been this hard for him. No one was a perfect angel like Ms Gilmore. She had no criminal record and there were no records of any previous records. The point of having a criminal record expunged was for there to be no trace of it. She was an excellent student and graduated as Valedictorian of Chilton Prep School. She really was the editor of the Yale Daily News. Was there anything she couldn't do?

"What did you and all the other journalists think of Mr Huntzberger as boss before his tempers and wrongful termination?" Mr MacNamara asked, in hope of gaining something good for his client.

"Objection!" Robert called out.

"Sustained." The judge banged his gabble and Mr MacNamara quietly swore.

"Did Mr Huntzberger treat Ms Gilmore the same way that he treated all the other reporters at the Connecticut Daily News?" Mr MacNamara rephrased in hopes of avoiding another objection from Mr Pennel.

"He talked to Ms Gilmore a lot more and she was quite jumpy around him. She kept jumping and spilling things. She might normally be a klutz because not many people know her all that well but she was never jumpy with Angela. As reporters, he treated us all the same but as people, he possibly treated Ms Gilmore as better than the rest of us." Alex answered and Mr MacNamara claimed that he had nothing further to ask. Court was adjourned for the day with only one more witness the following morning. Rory Gilmore was relieved for that to be over. She desperately wanted to go to Luke's and eat a cheeseburger.

Mr MacNamara and Cooper approached Rory and Robert at the prosecution table.

"We would like to offer you a proposition." Mr MacNamara offered and Robert started to look a little worried.

"Is it because you know you're losing quite badly?" Rory asked with a wide smile on her face. Even she, with not much legal knowledge, knew that she was winning.

"Please drop this lawsuit and my client will pay you a million dollars. He will also give you your job back and he will leave the Connecticut Daily News. Isn't that what you want?" Mr MacNamara suggested and Rory didn't need to think about this at all. She had to finish what she had started. The lawsuit was almost over and it was pointless asking this now.

"I don't want this offer from you. I want to hear it from a jury of twelve peers. I have no intention of backing out of this lawsuit and you can't force me to." Rory turned away and left the court room with Robert following closely behind. A large posse was waiting for her in the foyer. Everyone seemed to be there. Lorelai, Luke, Jess, Logan, Paris, Doyle, Emily, Richard and the other Huntzbergers were all awaiting her with happy smiles on their faces. Christopher was not there and Rory couldn't remember if she even told him about this lawsuit. It was very possible that she hadn't and she didn't mind his absence much. He was absent for a lot of her life and this was just something else that he missed. It may have been her fault for neglecting to inform him of it but she didn't mind. Rory ran up and hugged her pregnant mother who was starting to cry in happiness. She pulled back from her mother and decided to thank everyone.

"Thank you all for coming and supporting me with this." Rory turned to Robert next. "Thank you for everything." Rory thanked him and Robert winked at her.

"The show's not over yet." Robert left them all be. Rory, Lorelai, Luke, Jess and Logan all decided to go get burgers at Luke's diner.

When they all arrived at the diner, Rory collapsed in a chair, feeling completely exhausted. She hadn't really done anything all day except listen to her lawsuit go very well. Lorelai and Logan followed suit as Luke forced Jess to help out by serving coffee as if he still lived there. Jess made sure that his annoyance at Luke forcing him to work did not go unnoticed. Luke and Jess brought over two burgers each when Caesar was finished cooking them. They all sat down and started to eat the burgers.

"Mmm, this is great!" Rory complimented as she ate her burgers.

"I think you're winning that lawsuit." Jess said the obvious and there were nods of agreement all around as they ate. No one really needed to say anything because all the witnesses and evidence said it all. Rory was winning this case with hardly any work. Logan was paying his lawyer for it all and somehow her grandparents were perfectly fine with it all. They would probably insist on paying him back though but Logan would go back to his life in San Francisco and Cooper would probably go back with him. Rory would have her job back and if there were any openings at The New York Times, she'd definitely take the opportunity. She would've liked to go back to the Connecticut Daily News and knew she would be welcomed back. However, Rory needed to move on from that chapter of her life once the lawsuit was over. It really depended on how long until there was a position open at The Times.

When everyone had finished their burgers, Rory let Lorelai and Logan go on ahead a little and she promised to catch up. She decided to talk to Jess outside.

"Hey, great burger." Rory complimented again once they left the diner.

"What's this about? You're making me nervous." Jess pleaded and anxiously moved from one side to another. Without a word, Rory leaned in and kissed Jess. He pulled her closer and reciprocated. When they separated, Rory whispered only one word, 'after.' Jess was puzzled by this.  
"What do you mean?"

"Remember our last little fight and what happened up there in Luke's apartment? The Sex Thinglet?" Rory reminded him and Jess reddened a little in embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah, that was a doozy. I'm really sorry about that. I was a jerk that day." Jess confessed and Rory kissed him one more time.

"Well, we should try that again when you're not a jerk and after this lawsuit is over. I think it's time, don't you?" Rory suggested and Jess was surprised at this.

"Whenever you're ready." Jess kissed her again and Rory decided to go back home.

Lorelai was sitting on the couch reading a magazine when Rory finally got home. She hung up her jacket and went to sit next to her mother.

"What took so long?" Lorelai complained as she closed her magazine and placed it on the coffee table. Rory started to feel anxious about telling her mother about this decision. It was only a few minutes ago that she was excited about the idea.

"Jess and I are thinking about doing that crazy 'it' thing that we haven't done." Rory announced as vaguely as possible as if Logan were also there listening instead of being at the Dragonfly. Lorelai understood every word and realised that they were going back to talking about everything.

"Are you sure? Do you feel ready? Does _he _feel ready?" Lorelai checked and Rory nodded.

"After the lawsuit so you may need to leave us the house one evening." Lorelai's mouth fell open in shock. She didn't think that she would be able to do that. She couldn't possibly leave her house for Rory and Jess to have sex. That was what she had an apartment for, far away in Hartford. Lorelai decided to shake her head at this and remind her daughter that she had an apartment that she was paying for in Hartford. Rory sighed and decided that that was probably the best course of action. It would also freak out her mother less. With that issue resolved, Rory decided to get some ice cream for herself and her mother.

NRMW NRMW NRMW

The following morning followed like any other. Lorelai and Rory sitting at Luke's diner, eating French toast and drinking coffee. Jess started greeting Rory by kissing her in public. The whole town was abuzz with Jess' return, the rekindling of an old flame and Rory's lawsuit which they all watched the reports on the television. Rory was less anxious about the lawsuit now but still couldn't wait until it was all over. She met her large group of family and friends at the courthouse. When Cooper and Mr MacNamara entered the courthouse, they knew that it was time to begin. 'It must be hard to see your family support the person suing you,' Rory thought as she watched Cooper walk by. Robert and Rory took their places at the table. Everyone was required to stand for the judge's entrance into the court. He requested for everyone to sit and so began another day at court.

The last witness was a middle-aged woman was an editor at the Connecticut Daily News. She worked closer to Cooper's level and had edited most of Rory's articles before they were given to Cooper to organise on the layout. She was asked to swear on the Bible to tell the truth.

"Please state your name and address for the court." Robert requested as the first lawyer to cross-examine her.

"Amanda Jackson at 1991 Hickory Street." She replied.

"What is your relationship with Ms Gilmore, in work terms?" Robert asked.

"I edited Ms Gilmore's articles before they are sent to layout." Amanda simply replied.

"What about Mr Huntzberger?" Robert enquired.

"I have worked closely with Mr Huntzberger. Editors of a newspaper all work closely together. He was always a good leader and seemed to treat everyone equally. That was why it was such a shock when he fired Ms Gilmore. If he can fire someone as good as her, anyone could be fired." Amanda stopped herself when she realised that she had gone off on a tangent.

"Has his leadership style changed like Mr Stewart said ever since he fired Ms Gilmore?" Robert asked and Amanda simply agreed with Alexander Stewart.

"Nothing further." Robert stated and returned to his seat.

Mr MacNamara fixed his tie as he stood up and approached Ms Jackson.

"Did Ms Gilmore ever not perform up to the standard that was required? Was she ever a bad writer? Was she ever bad enough that you could justify Mr Huntzberger firing her?" Mr MacNamara asked and he was asked to restrict it down to one question. He apologised and repeated the first question.

"No, Ms Gilmore always was a great writer. She performed to the best of her ability, which was usually a higher standard than required." Amanda replied and Mr MacNamara was starting to believe that this had all been set up to ruin his career as a lawyer. It wouldn't ruin his career as much as Cooper's though.

"Was she ever a bad writer?" Mr MacNamara asked even though he believed that the following question was linked to the current one.

"No, she was always a _good_ writer and researcher." Amanda insisted.

"Was she ever a bad writer that could justify Mr Huntzberger's decision to fire her?" Mr MacNamara asked and once again the answer was a big fat 'no.' He was starting to get irritated at this. Mr MacNamara decided that it was time to give up and he returned to his seat with a gritted 'nothing further.'

The closing statements began and Rory Gilmore was relieved that it was almost over. Robert Pennel stood up and walked over to stand in front of the judge. He turned to the jury and the audience before beginning.

"Every witness that has stood on that witness stand has said the exact same thing. Ms Rory Gilmore is an excellent writer and did not deserve to be fired. Mr Cooper Huntzberger had no good reason to fire her except that a date didn't go well. He tried to cover it up by saying that Ms Gilmore did not perform up to the required standards. If you'll remember Ms Jackson's statement that Rory always performed higher than necessary, you will know that she didn't deserve that. So, jurors of the public, I ask you to find Mr Huntzberger guilty of Wrongful Termination and decide on a punishment well suited. You will also have to choose a compensation for Ms Gilmore. I'm sure she'd greatly appreciate it." Robert sat back down next to Rory Gilmore, fully confident that they won that case.

Mr MacNamara stood up slowly and also went to face the jury.

"What Mr Pennel failed to inform you is that Ms Gilmore really isn't a great writer and that was why Mr Huntzberger was fully justified to fire Ms Gilmore. I ask you to study her writing and her contract and you will find that I am write and everyone else is wrong. Ms Gilmore is clearly a likeable person but she doesn't really need any compensation or her job back. She's young and can probably move on from this very easily. I ask that you don't destroy this man's career and reputation." Mr MacNamara finished early due to his disappointment that he had clearly lost this lawsuit. The judge told the jury to consider each statement and piece of evidence very closely. Soon, the jury left into their decision-making room. The rest of the courthouse started to leave. Rory breathed out a large sigh of relief. It was all over and all she had to wait for now was how much money she would be able to take home. Hopefully she would also get her job back and Cooper would leave the East Coast forever. Rory was delighted at the thought.

NRMW NRMW NRMW

Within a few hours, everyone reassembled back in the courthouse. The jury all came back and took their seats. Not one of them looked at Cooper Huntzberger as they sat back down. A piece of paper was handed to the judge and he cleared his throat, ready to read aloud.

"The jury finds the defendant guilty of Wrongful Termination. The defendant will resign from the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Daily News and leave the state of Connecticut. Ms Gilmore will receive 2 million dollars in compensation and the option of taking back her job at the Connecticut Daily News should she wish to. A new Editor-In-Chief will be chosen with the decision of the other editors at the Connecticut Daily News." The judge read and Rory's family and friends all clapped happily while everyone else laughed. The jury were let go and Rory thanked Robert profusely once again. He was happy to do it and win as well. Rory ran down through the seats to her family and friends. She hugged everyone tightly with great excitement and Lorelai decided that they all go back to Luke's for a celebration.

When they arrived at Stars Hollow, it seemed that everyone in town was there waiting for her, in the square. Babette, Miss Patty, Kirk, Lane, Zach and everyone else all tried to hug her at the same time. Luke asked Jess to help pour champagne for everyone over the age of 21.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to make a very special announcement. Stars Hollow's Rory Gilmore won her first and hopefully last lawsuit!" There were cheers of excitement once again and Rory thanked everyone for supporting her. The party soon started up and Richard and Emily decided to talk to Logan quickly.

"Logan, we're perfectly happy to reimburse you for this lawsuit. We're so grateful to you." Emily offered.

"Ah, that's really not necessary." Logan declined their offer.

"Oh, but we insist. We are so grateful and she didn't give us a chance to help her out." Richard insisted. Logan sighed and decided to finally let them reimburse him. He may be grateful for it in the long run.

Elsewhere, Jess pulled Rory to the side of the party for a minute.

"Did you tell your Mom?" Jess asked and Rory nodded.

"We have to do it back at my apartment which I think is better. I know it's in Hartford but I still have everything there." Rory told him and Jess agreed that her apartment was a better place.

Rory Gilmore was so relieved that it was over and now she could just party with all the people that she grew up with in the town square. It was a lot like that Bon Voyage party that Luke had thrown the night before she went on the Obama Campaign. There was also a Welcome Back to Connecticut Party when the campaign was over. Now she was back to being employed, things with Jess and her were good. She would be a little disappointed to see Logan leave again. Her mother was almost seven months pregnant and currently sitting on a chair, away from the dancing. Rory was so happy that she could've gone on dancing all night.

**A/N: Oh My God! That was possibly the longest chapter I have ever written. For the record, it is 5614 words long and about ten pages (single spacing) on my computer! So, now you know why it took so long! Thank you all for your patience and please review! Also, make sure to check out my new story Confirming Best Wishes and Worst Fears if you haven't. **

**Please don't forget to review! I love reviews as much as the next person here. **


	22. Back To Reality

Chapter Twenty-Two – Back To Reality

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for all your reviews! There are so many! I'm glad that you all liked it so much! I don't think the Connecticut State system is **_**that**_** screwed up to exile a person but it's my story and it's fiction. **** Well, this story is now starting to head towards its ending which is kind of sad because I've had fun writing it. I just found out that there's an actress called Angela Featherstone. I had no idea and I haven't heard of her. I made up the name off the top of my head! I swear! **

**This chapter also hints, not very subtly, at sex. Just a warning. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or apparently Angela Featherstone. I do own the fictional Angela Featherstone etc. I did use a small part of dialogue that is from the episode It's Just Like Riding A Bike (7x19)**

Rory Gilmore, feeling two million dollars richer, entered the dull grey building of the Connecticut Daily News. After the lawsuit, she decided to wait a few days until she knew that Cooper had been replaced. Logan and Cooper had both gone back to San Francisco a day after the lawsuit. She knew that she would be perfectly happy to live the rest of her life without ever seeing Cooper Huntzberger ever again. She may have gone so far as to be happy to never see another Huntzberger as long as she lived. Lorelai had gone back to work at the Dragonfly Inn. Jess had stuck around in Stars Hollow although on this particular day, he was at her apartment preparing for their 'special evening.' As she walked through the foyer and pressed the button for the elevator, she was happy to be back somewhere familiar. She did want to start hunting for a new job very soon. Rory decided that she would love to go to The New York Times. It had been her dream for so long. Rory entered into the tiny elevator and braced herself as it went up through the large tube. The double doors opened and Rory walked into the bustling newspaper office. She headed straight for her old desk, which no one was sitting at. She placed down the box of the few possessions that she needed to be here temporarily. On her desk was a large card that read 'Welcome Back!' Rory opened the card and found that everyone had signed in it. She was unbelievably touched at everyone's compassion. Suddenly someone hugged her from behind and Rory squealed in delight. When she was released, she turned around to see Angela smiling at her.

"I'm so glad that you're back! I've missed you! It was so scary in that courtroom too." Angela gushed and Rory hugged her friend once again. "Do you like your card?" Angela asked as Rory released her.

"I love it but no one is celebrating. Why is no one celebrating?" Rory wondered as she placed her card on the windowsill that overlooked her alma mater.

"We're all working on your exposé and this whole lawsuit. The official party is Friday because that was a convenient time." Angela explained and she left her friend to organise her desk.

Rory moved on to her small box and placed her name plaque, which she loved so much, on the desk. She took out a few other things such as her pens. She next moved on to the one and only truly personal item. It was a framed picture of her and Jess. It was taken long ago when they were dating in high school but she could never bring herself to throw it away. Rory didn't see the problem though. It was just a picture of her and Jess trying to read and take a picture with Jess' arm around her waist. She took this picture wherever she went. After Jess ran off to California, she had put it in a 'Jess Box' but took it out whenever she missed him. She even took it around the country on the Obama Campaign Trail. It was a well-travelled photograph and if it lived through all those bumpy bus rides, it could live through anything. Rory finally placed it on the desk when she heard that a staff meeting had been called.

Rory and Angela both entered the conference room amongst all the other journalists. At the front was a fairly tall, dark haired man wearing a beige suit. Angela explained that his name was Peter Henderson, their new editor-in-chief and a senior employee of the Huntzberger Publishing Group.

"Welcome to a new week at the Connecticut Daily News. I am proud that you have chosen me to become the new editor-in-chief and I will hopefully be able to turn this into a great newspaper. Will we please also welcome back Ms Rory Gilmore?" Everyone cheered for her and Rory reddened a little with the attention. "We will need to do a sort of expose on this lawsuit between Ms Gilmore and Mr Huntzberger otherwise we would be the only newspaper that doesn't. Angela, would you like to work on that?" Mr Henderson offered and Angela accepted excitedly to work with her friend. Mr Henderson handed out other assignments to the rest of the journalists leaving Rory free to be interviewed by Angela for the expose. It was unfortunate that Mr Huntzberger had already left to go back to California without an interview but Rory was more than happy to talk to Angela. Mr Henderson dismissed everyone and Angela decided to interview Rory there and then.

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Lorelai Gilmore stood sideways in front of the full-length mirror and stroked her growing stomach. She looked pregnant. If there was any doubt about it before, there wasn't now. Lorelai wore one of her new maternity outfits and started to feel very fat. She was only looking in the mirror now to check if her feet were still there. They were. Luke thought that she looked adorable in these clothes but Lorelai wasn't sure. She was going to go to the doctor today and she knew that she would be put on bed rest. She had spoken with Michel and Sookie and it would be the same deal as when she went to Paris with Christopher and Gigi. Lorelai shuddered as she remembered those days and was grateful that they were done. She occasionally saw Christopher with Rory but he tended to stay away from her now. Luke was grateful for this as he never liked Chris and he had good reason not to. Lorelai checked the time on her bedside clock and realised that she was late. She slowly waddled down the stairs and grabbed her jacket and keys as she waddled out of her house.

Outside of her house, Lorelai opened the door of her Jeep and tried to climb in it. Lorelai screamed in pain and Babette rushed out of her house.

"Oh sugar! Stop that right now. I'm coming over to help you get out of that car! I can drive you to Hartford or help call someone else who can." Babette screeched as she helped a heavily pregnant Lorelai out of her car.

"Thanks Babette but I think I'll just call my mother." Lorelai insisted and so Babette went back inside her house. Lorelai pulled out her cell phone and dialled a number she always regretted dialling. Her mother finally picked up the phone.

Emily: Hello?

Lorelai: Hey Mom, it's me, Lorelai

Emily: Is everything okay?

Lorelai: Everything is swell! I was wondering if you could please come and pick me up and take me to the doctor?

Emily: Of course, I'll be there in half an hour.

Lorelai: Thanks!

Lorelai closed her phone and decided to head back inside her house to wait for her mother. She looked back at the clock again and saw that her appointment was in 15 minutes. Lorelai quickly called the surgery and informed them that she would be late due to transportation difficulties. Lorelai couldn't believe that she was relying on her mother again but it was all for different reasons. Before it was for shelter and food but she had managed to get herself to the hospital to give birth all on her own. She didn't even have a driver license then. Now, she had her own shelter and food but was lacking for transportation. Lorelai knew that she would never be fully independent from her parents, no matter how much she wished it. Even if she was financially independent, Rory was her connection to her parents. If she were financially independent, would Rory have that relationship with Emily and Richard? She would never know.

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After Rory's interview with Angela, Rory went to her computer to look for other reporting jobs at all the major news organisations. She was mostly interested in a position at The New York Times. A list of newspapers requiring reporters filled the screen. It seemed every newspaper in the country was looking for more reporters from The Stamford Eagle Gazette to The New York Times. Rory clicked on the Seeking Reporter link at the New York Times and figured that she would be qualified for any newspaper now. Another newspaper caught her eye as well. The Philadelphia Inquirer was looking for reporters too. Rory thought back to before the lawsuit and that desperate urge to make the dangerous U-Turn and start a life with Jess. A life with Jess in Philadelphia and he wouldn't have to do a thing. She could work at The Philadelphia Inquirer while he worked at Truncheon Books with Matt and Chris. It was a perfect fantasy. Her dream to live and work at The New York Times was also creeping back into her mind. She would definitely apply for both, but which would she choose? Rory thought back to Paris' words at Rich Man's Shoe right before they graduated from Yale.

_Rory looked at Paris worriedly as she drank the rest of Rory's beer. Lucy and Olivia had caught the message and left to go play darts. Paris had just broken up with her boyfriend Doyle. Well, he was her boyfriend at the time. Paris explained that every time she evaluated a school, she wondered how close it was to Doyle and whether there were any good newspapers nearby. She explained her plan to meet _the guy _when she was 30 and clerking for a federal judge. Rory justified that she fell in love and that Paris couldn't plan everything. Paris had asked Rory what she was planning on doing with Logan. Rory explained that they would factor each other in. _

"_Okay, so carry that thought out. Let's say that you get The New York Times Fellowship and Logan's meetings go extremely well in San Francisco and he wants to move there. Do you take a job in San Francisco? The chronicle is a perfectly adequate paper. Or do you go to The New York Times." Paris asked her. For Rory, the answer seemed so simple._

"_The New York Times." Rory answered fairly quickly._

"_Then we're saying the same thing, aren't we?" Paris said and Rory started to doubt her decision. It couldn't be the same thing._

"_No, not at all." Rory disagreed._

"_You're saying that your career is your priority over your relationship." Paris explained._

"_They're both priorities." Rory protested._

"_But your career comes first." Paris retorted._

"_Well, I didn't say it comes first. I-I'm just not ready to make sacrifices in that area yet." Rory justified but this didn't seem to do much good to change Paris' opinion of her. _

"_But you are willing to make sacrifices in your relationship. Hence, your career is more important to you, just like me." Paris reinforced. _

That was about five years ago and she had just fought for her job in court. Her best friend's words still resonated even now. Was she ready to make sacrifices in her career now? Rory knew that she wasn't getting any younger and it would've been nice to be at The New York Times as soon as she graduated. Should she throw away her dream of The New York Times for a life with Jess in Philadelphia? Rory opened a blank Word document and split it into two columns. It was time to make a Pro/Con list.

Two hours later, Rory Gilmore had made coffee in the kitchen, reorganised everything on her desk, read the latest copy of the Connecticut Daily News and had only come up with a few points for her Pro/Con lists. She was having trouble choosing between The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rory decided to update her resume and apply to both newspapers as well as others around the East Coast. She didn't want to have to move far away to the West Coast. Then she would never see Jess again and that could be difficult after what was happening tonight.

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Emily Gilmore finally arrived in her clean Jaguar car and in preparation, moved the passenger seat as far back as possible. She walked up the messy pathway to the front door. Emily knocked on the door and Lorelai opened it almost immediately.

"Hey Mom, thank you so much for doing this." Lorelai greeted her mother and so they both started to make their way to the car.

"I'd do anything for you." Emily assured her daughter as she opened the door to the passenger side of the car. Lorelai scoffed as she saw how far back the seat was.

"I'm not Robert Wadlow or Manuel Uribe, thank you very much! I can get into a car just fine." Lorelai said but Emily remained unconvinced.

"Didn't you call me because you _couldn't _get into a car by yourself?" Emily reminded her daughter.

"The steering wheel was in the way." Lorelai joked and Emily helped her daughter into the car and moved the seat forward. They were soon on their way back to Hartford.

"Do you know when your due date is?" Emily enquired in an effort to make conversation. Lorelai vaguely told her that it was in a couple of months.

"Thank you for coming to rescue me, Mom. I'm sure that it's a great inconvenience in your day." Lorelai told her mother but she kept on driving in silence.

"It's no inconvenience to help my daughter. I'm sure that Luke is busy at his _diner_. Where's Rory?" Emily asked and Lorelai replied that Rory had gone back to work at the Connecticut Daily News until she could find another job.

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Rory Gilmore arrived at her apartment in Hartford at around seven that evening. She quickly took off her jacket and placed it on the coat rack. Rory followed the mysterious scent into the kitchen where she found Jess at the stove, cooking. She couldn't believe that Jess Mariano was cooking. In high school, he did the bare minimum when it came to working in Luke's diner. It also never involved the kitchen at Luke's unless he was arguing with Caesar.

"Hey," Jess momentarily left the stove and kissed Rory quickly on the lips.

"Hey there, do my eyes deceive me or are you really cooking?" Rory joked and Jess shrugged.

"I've been cooking all damn day. This morning, I go to Uncle Luke and ask him to teach me to cook something simple. So he sends me into the kitchen and gets Caesar to teach me how to make everything on Luke's menu. I did pick up some pudding, which is in the freezer and I'll heat it up during dinner. So, I'm sorry but it's a burgers and pudding night. Pot Roast may have been a little trickier. I hope you don't mind." Jess babbled on and kissed Rory one more time. "How was your day?" Jess enquired and Rory sighed. "That bad, huh?"

"No, it was fine. Everyone was happy to see me and Angela is covering the story about this lawsuit so I had to give an interview to my friend. That was a little weird." Rory decided that it was probably best to tell Jess about New York and Philadelphia later. Jess finished the burgers while Rory showered and got changed into a dress. When Rory returned to the dining room, she saw that there were candles lit and burgers waiting on plates. It all seemed a little contrasting but wonderful all at the same time. She sighed as she saw it and went to kiss Jess.

"I'll take it that means that you like it." Jess said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. She rested her head on his shoulder, momentarily before remembering to eat. Rory sat down at the table and Jess put the pudding into the oven. Rory smiled as she watched Jess, a not very cooking type guy, organise everything in the kitchen.

"What is it?" Jess asked when he noticed Rory's bright smile. She simply claimed that she was happy to be with him. Jess, unable to think of a response, merely sat down at the table across from her.

"It's nice to have a burger for dinner." Rory mused out loud and Jess tried not to laugh at her. "It's true! We Gilmore women love our Diner men. Even if you don't work at Luke's diner as much anymore." Rory started to laugh and this was invitation enough for Jess to join in. They started to eat their burgers and Rory nodded mockingly in approval. Jess decided to dive straight into conversation.

"So, what have you been reading?" Jess started with an old, yet foolproof, conversation starter for the literati couple.

"You'll hate me." Rory warned.

"Never read it. Unpublished manuscript from Harper Lee?" Jess smirked and Rory rolled her eyes at this.

"It's- it doesn't matter. It's not the first time I've read it." Rory vaguely hinted and Jess guessed that it might be _The Fountainhead_. He really didn't want to ruin this night with Ayn Rand. Rory shook her head at this and took back her warning. "It's just _Persuasion_ by Jane Austen. Nothing to get excited about." Rory finally gave in and Jess wondered why she thought he would hate Jane Austen. He had mentioned years ago that he'd read Jane Austen. He also enjoyed her novels. This brought Dean Forester to the forefront. Rory mentioned something about lending him a book. That _jerk _had probably never heard of Jane Austen before he'd met Rory Gilmore. The thought of Dean Forester was pushed out of his mind. There were plenty of ways he could screw this night up and mentioning Dean was one of them. They dove into a lengthy discussion on the ethics of Anne Elliot allowing herself to be persuaded to reject Frederick Wentworth, when they were clearly in love. Once they had finished eating, Jess retrieved the pudding and placed in a bowl.

"What about you, Jess? Are you reading or writing or both?" Rory enquired and Jess mentioned that he had been writing a few things down. "I'm sure it's amazing."

"I don't think anyone has more confidence in me than you." Jess said as he placed the bowls on the table. Rory, happily, dug into the pudding.

"So, what are you reading? Who are your influences on your writing? It's so _you _but there has to be someone. Oh, I know, Hemingway!" Rory wondered out loud. Jess smiled at the way she said _Hemingway_. It brought back memories of her complaints.

"Yeah, Hemingway is one of them. J. D. Salinger, Harper Lee, Charles Dickens, Allen Ginsberg, you." Jess babbled on and Rory's eyes widened at the mention of her.

"Me?" Rory questioned. She wasn't sure she had heard him properly. _She _was grouped in with Dickens, Salinger and Hemingway, as his influences. Jess smiled sheepishly in confirmation and tried to hide his face in his arms. Rory took his hand and brought him back up to air before she kissed him passionately. Jess took note out of the corner of his eye of the unfinished pudding. Jess felt himself being pushed lightly away from _pudding _to the bedroom. A Gilmore had refused pudding for sex?

"I've been a bad influence on you." Jess said as they parted for oxygen. Rory shook her head and Jess pointed back at the pudding. She shrugged her shoulders and kissed him once more. "Rory, are you sure about this? Your pudding is getting cold." Jess enquired and Rory refused to look back at the pudding.

"I am positive." Rory kissed him again. Jess claimed, in between breaths and kisses, that he had definitely been a bad influence on her. Rory continued to push him through the door as she unbuttoned his shirt. Jess closed the door behind them as they finally entered Rory's bedroom.

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Lorelai and Emily Gilmore finally arrived at the obstetrician's office after a very quiet drive. Emily helped Lorelai out of the car, much to Lorelai's dismay. Lorelai had started to waddle like every other pregnant woman that she saw on the side of the road. Emily Gilmore opened the front door for Lorelai, who groaned as she walked through.

"Lorelai, please stop moaning and groaning like a ghost. I'm doing all this for you. Please remember that!" Emily snapped and Lorelai mumbled an apology. "It's like you're a pregnant teenager all over again." Emily mumbled angrily as they approached the front desk. A young pretty blonde woman sat behind the desk and greeted them in an excited manner.

"Why hello there! Welcome to the Hartford Clinic! How may I help you?" Lorelai almost jumped from the happiness emanating from this woman. Lorelai smiled tightly back.

"Hello, what are you doing outside of Pleasantville?" Lorelai greeted and the woman seemed confused. Lorelai decided to move on. "I have an appointment at 3pm. My name is Lorelai Gilmore." The woman turned to the computer and keyed in a few things. She gestured for them to wait in the waiting area until the obstetrician came to find her. The waiting area consisted of half the reception area with chairs against the walls and the floor, riddled with various colourful plastic toys. Emily moved a few to the side to create a path to the chairs.

"You'd think they'd clean up every now and then." Emily said, loud enough for the receptionist to hear. Lorelai rolled her eyes as she sat down on a nearby chair.

"Thanks for coming, Mom." Lorelai said quietly and Emily beamed with excitement. She said a quick 'you're welcome' and the obstetrician emerged from a nearby room. Emily helped Lorelai off the chair and they crossed the lobby to the woman in the white coat. She gestured for them to enter the ultrasound room and Lorelai lay down on the long chair. Her baby was getting quite big at this stage. The obstetrician placed the cold gel on Lorelai's stomach and she winced a little from the cold.

"Your baby seems to be fine." The obstetrician moved the wand around as Lorelai and Emily watched in amazement at the baby. The obstetrician then cleaned the wand and the gel off of Lorelai's stomach.

"So, I can go now, right?" Lorelai started to get off the bed but she was pushed back down.

"I'll just go get your GP to check a few other things." The obstetrician left the room and Lorelai sighed. She decided to turn to her mother for a conversation.

"Are you looking forward to being a grandmother again?" Lorelai asked and Emily shrugged.

"Please don't keep this one away from Richard and I for another sixteen years. I don't think I could bear it. We missed so much with Rory because of your stupid pride." Emily begged as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Lorelai grabbed a tissue and handed it to her mother.

"I promise that I won't do that." Lorelai promised and Emily smiled a little back at her. The obstetrician returned to the room with another man. He took her blood pressure and a worried expression covered his face.

"Have you had any major stress recently?" the doctor enquired and Lorelai mentioned her daughter's lawsuit, which caused a bit of stress. "It appears you have Toxaemia." The doctor announced and Emily stood up in protest.

"She has a disease?" Emily questioned.

"It's nothing really. She'll just have to be on bed rest until the baby comes." The doctor announced and Lorelai covered her head with her hands.

"I'm not due for two more months! I didn't think the lawsuit was _that _stressful." Lorelai groaned as she got off the bed and gruffly thanked the GP and the obstetrician. Emily apologised for her daughter and thanked them politely.

"Let's get you home to bed." Emily said chirpily as she drove her daughter back to Stars Hollow.

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Out of all the times that Rory had daydreamed about Jess shirtless (and pants-less), it was not as amazing as the real thing. Rory sighed as she snuggled closer to Jess Mariano. It was a fairly large bed (her grandmother's doing) but they did not take up all that much room. Rory had never realised how amazing sex with Jess could be. She shuddered as she thought about her first time with a _married _Dean. When she dated Logan, sex had eventually become almost a routine. This first time with Jess was special though and Rory loved every minute of it.

"Jess?" Rory whispered as Jess kissed her cheek softly.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"I love you."

**A/N: I decided to leave it there because I thought it would be a good ending. I'm very sorry that this took so long. It is very long. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. I've been kind of in a Writers Block and have had so many assignments. All but one assignment has been done now. So now I'm trying to get back into my old routine before depressing assignments, which includes writing. I enjoyed writing that Rory and Jess interaction. **

**Also, please help me choose a newspaper for Rory: New York Times or Philadelphia Inquirer? **

**Please Review and I will love you forever! **


	23. Departure and Applications

Chapter Twenty-three – Departure and Applications

**A/N: Kind of down on the reviews this time. I'm sorry that these update are taking so long. Anyways, I don't think that this is a particularly interesting chapter and it's kind of a filler chapter. It links to the rest of the story. **

**I hope you kind of enjoy this chapter. **

Lorelai Gilmore had everything that she could possibly need for the rest of her pregnancy. She was lying in her bed, surrounded by fruit, magazines, music, telephone and the television. She even had that tiny but annoying little bell that she gave to Rory to use when she had fractured her wrist in that car accident. Lorelai looked over to the fuzzy clock on her bedside table, which read 9:30am. There was only so much time that she could spend in bed. Lorelai sighed loudly and decided to give her daughter a call. She dialled the familiar number and counted about a thousand rings before Rory decided to pick up the phone.

Rory: Hello?

Lorelai: Finally! Hello dear daughter of mine. How was your night?

Rory: Oh, it was great. We had burgers and pudding and I won't tell you about the rest.

Lorelai: Burgers and pudding? Really?

Rory: It's all step-daddy's fault. He got Caesar to teach Jess to cook. How was your day or night? Oh, you went to the doctor yesterday, didn't you?

Lorelai: Yeah, I have Toxaemia.

Rory: What? What is that?

Lorelai: Your fault. If you hadn't sued your boss then I wouldn't be stuck in bed. I'm supposed to be relaxed and calm.

Rory: You're crabby. Clearly, you're not relaxed and calm.

Lorelai: I'm very bored.

Rory: I would come and visit but I'm busy, so I'll come this weekend. In the meantime, get Sookie over or Luke. Read a book or watch some television. Just relax.

Lorelai: Fine. You probably want to go back to your dirtiness.

Rory: Thanks, bye.

Lorelai: Bye.

"I'm too fat to do anything dirty!" Lorelai complained as she threw the phone against the wall. It made a small dark mark against the off-white paint and Lorelai hoped it was small enough for Luke to not notice. Lorelai decided to call Sookie over to her house, as she didn't want to be alone any longer.

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Rory groaned as she placed the phone on the bedside table after a brief conversation with her mother. She wrapped her arms around Jess and cuddled closer into him.

"Who was that?' Jess enquired and Rory mumbled that it was her mother calling. "We should get up." Jess stated and Rory hid her head in the hopes that the day could disappear and she'd lie here with him forever. "I have to go back to Philly." This caught Rory's attention and her head snapped up.

"What? Today?" She whimpered and Jess nodded. "So, we have sex and you just go back? Can't you stay for one more day? Please? Go around to bookstores and advertise _The Subsect_." Rory complained but Jess shook his head.

"I have to go make sure that Matt and Chris haven't burnt Truncheon to the ground. What if you came to Philly with me?" Jess suggested mockingly and this reminded Rory of her newspaper debacle from the previous day. She still couldn't choose between The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Jess noticed that Rory was deep in thought and brought her out of her reverie. "Have you been thinking of coming to Philly with me?" Jess enquired and Rory nodded.

"On a few occasions. I wasn't going to mention it just yet but I may as well tell you now that you have asked. I've started thinking about applying to other newspapers around the East Coast, including the Inquirer. I would love to work at The New York Times or the Philadelphia Inquirer. So, if you would hate the idea of me moving to Philly, I suggest you voice your opinion now." Rory looked over at Jess who simply burst out laughing. "Not quite the reaction I'd hoped for." Rory mumbled quietly and Jess placed a reassuring kiss on Rory's lips.

"I'm sorry, I just love when you ramble. I think if you came to Philadelphia, it'd be a dream come true." Jess explained and Rory smiled at this. She leaned into kiss Jess who reciprocated until he realised that Rory would be late for work. As they parted, Rory sighed until she looked at the clock. She was late. Rory, without thinking, pulled the sheet with her as she gathered a business suit to change into. This left Jess a little exposed and cold on the bed before he took the quilt. Jess eventually decided to get dressed and make pancakes for the one girl he loved.

Jess dragged himself into the kitchen and eventually found a pancake mix, which he began to make while Rory was getting dressed. She eventually arrived in the kitchen without a word and merely placed her arms around Jess' torso, hugging him. Jess had never felt so happy as he had last night. He was disappointed that he couldn't stay but the idea of Rory coming to Philadelphia was almost dream-like. He occasionally pinched himself in between flipping pancakes to make sure it wasn't a dream. It was definitely a reality.

"Remember when I came to Philadelphia just before this lawsuit and right after I got fired?" Rory prompted and Jess nodded. He had never forgotten that day and probably never will. "As I drove away, all I wanted to do was turn back and start our lives together. I could've done it but I was about to start the lawsuit." Rory explained as she continued to cuddle Jess while he was at the stove. Jess gave a plate of pancakes to Rory who delighted in taking them and began to eat. Jess took over his plate to the table as well and they ate in pure happiness.

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Sookie St. James arrived at her best friend's house and headed straight up the stairs to where Lorelai Gilmore lay. She had brought over everything that she had to distract herself from the kitchen at the Inn. Lorelai was delighted to see another human being, especially one so full of life as Sookie St James.

"Fabulous! You're here and you've brought goodies!" Lorelai greeted.

"Oh, this is going to be so exciting!" Sookie gushed as she set herself up on Lorelai's bed. For the first time since Lorelai had been diagnosed, she smiled because she was in the company of her best friend.

"So, what did you do when you were on bed rest?" Lorelai enquired and Sookie started to remember all those years back. Sookie had complained a lot about being on bed rest. She also remembered when Luke had taken over for a day and calling him to make sure that he was double straining the sauce.

"It usually took a bit of adjusting but I mostly watched TV and sampled Manny's recipes for the Inn. Ooh, should we watch a movie? But I don't want you to become a couch potato. Once your baby pops out, you're going to have to get out bed and raise that kid!" Sookie rambled until Lorelai reminded her that she had already raised a child all by herself. Sookie always looked up to her best friend and thought her one of the most amazing women on the earth. She raised Rory all on her own and was so brave to leave her parents house. Of course, everyone adored Rory Gilmore (and still do) so the whole town supported Lorelai. She knew how grateful Lorelai was to Mia.

"Look Sookie, I promise that I will stop being a couch potato the minute that the extra addition into the family arrives. In the mean time, shall we start with _Rosemary's Baby_?" Lorelai suggested and Sookie's eyes widened in shock.

"_Rosemary's Baby_? That is probably the last movie you should watch while you're pregnant. Should we start with your favourite, _Casablanca_?" Sookie replied and Lorelai's eyes brightened at the thought of Humphrey Bogart. Sookie took that as an agreement and headed downstairs to where the videos were kept.

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"Shit," Rory whispered as she threw everything she found around her room. She had lost her briefcase that contained her notes for her current article. Jess poked his head into the room and watched her throw everything around the room, making a complete and total mess.

"Did you just swear?" Jess questioned. Rory was always amazed at his powers of observation. His ability to pick up on every tiny detail, even if it was someone swearing under their breath.

"Dammit, my reputation has been ruined." Rory joked before turning to face him, "I can't find it!" Rory stormed out of her room, past Jess who remained in the doorway and headed into the kitchen. Jess started to collect his things and pack them into his suitcase. He started to listen to Rory rambling about her lost briefcase but he still had no idea where it was. Jess noted from the clock that it was almost 10:00. 'Her boss will be pissed.' Jess thought. He decided to abandon his packing for a little while and search the apartment as well. Rather than joining Rory in the kitchen, because she had that area covered, Jess moved on to the living room. As he searched frantically around the living room, he noticed a leather briefcase out of the corner of his eye. Jess decided to trust his powers of observation and found it dumped by the door, hidden by her coat. He retrieved the briefcase and presented it to Rory. She smiled in relief and kissed him passionately in 'thanks.'

"Thank you so much. I have to go. Will you meet me at lunch time before you go?" Rory kissed her boyfriend when he agreed to meet her. At that, Rory rushed out of the apartment building and down to her car. She glanced at her watch and noticed that it was now 10:00am. It didn't take very long to get to work because it was so late in the morning. When she did get to work, she headed straight for her desk to finish her article.

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Rory Gilmore sipped at her cup of coffee outside of a café, while she waited for Jess to arrive for their lunch. She had finished her article early and left the building as soon as she could to escape the madness that had become the Connecticut Daily News. As she pondered this insane asylum that she had returned to, Rory wondered whether she should've just not gone back. She knew that she needed money and hated that her family was paying for her empty apartment while an expensive lawsuit was happening. Rory was no longer excited or content to be back at the Connecticut Daily News. How had she gone from The Yale Daily News to a Campaign Trail to a lousy newspaper? Now was definitely the time to apply to The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She still had no idea which newspaper to choose. All these thoughts disappeared the second she saw Jess Mariano returning to her. Rory left her table and met up with him as soon as she saw him. Rory gave him a passionate kiss in greeting and they heard another customer yell 'get a room.' Rory and Jess parted in laughter and headed back to the table.

"How has your day been?" Jess enquired and Rory shrugged.

"I finished my article and… I think I've done this all wrong." Rory stopped mid-thought. Jess looked puzzled at his girlfriend and she decided to elaborate. "This whole Philadelphia thing. I just want a do-over." Rory started to explain and Jess nodded, allowing her a redo. "Jess, I'm thinking of looking for another job." Rory started and Jess laid back in his chair.

"Huh, well we do have a great newspaper in Philadelphia." Jess continued with the charade. Now was his chance to ask her to come away with him again.

"The Philadelphia Inquirer? I've heard of it." Rory deadpanned as she sipped her coffee.

"You should apply for it. If you do…" Rory looked up, as Jess didn't finish his sentence. Panic crossed her mind about whether he was reconsidering. He finally noticed her expression and finished his sentence. "Would you like to move in with me in Philadelphia? That is if you get the job, which I'm sure that you will." Jess asked and Rory was filled with delight. She jumped up and kissed Jess once more unaware of the other customers watching their interaction. When they parted, Jess looked around to the other customers and smirked at them. He was happy that his girlfriend was going to move in with him.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' Shall we order?" Jess decided as he picked up the menu.

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"_Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." _The last words of _Casablanca _blared from the television and Lorelai and Sookie watched the two small figures disappear from the television.

"That's such a great movie," Lorelai sighed as she handed another tissue to Sookie. Her best friend took the tissue gratefully and wiped at her eyes. Lorelai turned to Sookie and asked what movie they should watch next. Sookie grabbed the stack of videos that she had collected from downstairs.

"Well, we have _The Shining, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, Stalag 17, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, Risky Business _and _Gaslight._" Sookie suggested. Lorelai pondered over the extensive list before deciding on _Breakfast at Tiffany's_.

"Ooh, yay! I love Audrey Hepburn!" Sookie gushed and Lorelai smiled.

"She's such a great actress. We should do an Audrey Hepburn marathon." Lorelai suggested and Sookie squealed. "But we've already ruined it with _Casablanca_."

"Who has to know?" Sookie said as she put the movie in anyway. Lorelai shrugged and Sookie started to worry. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" Lorelai shook her head.

"No, you've been great. I'm just missing Rory. The good thing about that lawsuit was that Rory was living here and I think she's looking for a new job. She'll probably go off to New York and… I'm ruining our movie day with prenatal depression. Let's watch _Breakfast At Tiffany's_." Lorelai babbled to her best friend. Sookie cocked her head to the side in sympathy. Davey and Martha were in their teens and attended Stars Hollow High School. Her younger son was still in Elementary school.

"It's fine. My kids haven't moved out yet so I can't really empathise." Sookie said although emotions were a little difficult for her. "Can we please talk about soup? I'm good with soup." Sookie said to lighten the conversation and this seemed to cheer Lorelai up.

"Not pumpkin soup. What about Potato and Leek? Or Mock Turtle soup?" Lorelai suggested with a bright smile on her face.

"What's wrong with my pumpkin soup?" Sookie questioned.

"I don't like _naturally _orange food." Lorelai joked as the credits of _Breakfast at Tiffany _started to appear on the television screen.

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Jess Mariano entered his uncle's diner in the hick town of Stars Hollow. Jess was always surprised that the town had not changed one bit. There had certainly been more than enough insane town festivals to make Jess feel nauseous. Luckily the lunch rush was over and Jess headed straight over to the couch. Kirk started to shift over to the other end of the counter after Jess sat down next to him.

"It's nice talking to you too Kirk," Jess said sarcastically without glancing at him. Luke came out of the kitchen and jumped a little from surprise when he saw his nephew.

"Hi Uncle Luke," Jess greeted with a smirk on his face.

"Uh, hey Jess. Are you heading back to Philadelphia?" His uncle greeted from behind the counter. Luke looked at Kirk strangely. Apparently he hadn't gotten over his phobia of Jess Mariano. Jess was more than happy to completely ignore the Town Oddball.

"Yeah, I thought I would come through Stars Hollow and say 'See you later.'" Jess told him and Luke nodded. "Well, I guess I'll see you around at some point." Jess told his uncle, but rather than leaving, he remained at the counter. Luke waited for a couple of minutes and eventually decided to ask why Jess wasn't leaving yet.

"What's going on, Jess?" Luke asked and Jess quickly jumped up from the counter. He did not leave the diner like Luke had expected but headed straight for Luke's old apartment upstairs above the diner. "Jess! What's going on?" Luke called out to him as he ran up the stairs after his nephew. Jess was waiting quietly at the door of his apartment and Luke, silently, unlocked the door. He waited until the door was closed again to ask once again. "What's going on?" Luke repeated and Jess sighed.

"You sound like a broken record." Jess said sarcastically.

"Do you have any particular desire to be in my apartment at this time?" Luke asked sarcastically and Jess sighed.

"She wants to move in with me." Jess stated vaguely. Luke, of course, had no idea what was going on. When Jess saw Luke's confusion, he decided to elaborate. "Rory wants to come to Philadelphia and live with me. She wants to work at the Philadelphia Inquirer and be with _me._" Jess explained and Luke was still silent.

"That's great. What's the problem?" Luke asked and Jess sat down on the couch. He leaned his head back on the top of the old leather brown couch.

"It doesn't feel real. I mean, I've wanted this forever but it doesn't seem real. She'd give up her dream of working at The New York Times to be with me. How does that work?" Jess wondered. He had no idea why he was doubting that his greatest fantasy was coming true.

"I don't have a Psychology degree. She wants to be with you." Luke guessed and Jess shrugged.

"God knows why." Jess said and Luke remembered the first time he'd said this. Jess was different now. He had matured and gotten a stable job rather than be a smart teenager who never graduated high school.

"She picked you. Look, Jess, you're still the same sarcastic James Dean type of guy but you've grown up. Rory always had a lot of faith in you. I'm glad that you're opening up a little. We never did this unless a swan beaked you in the eye." Luke tried to hold back his laughter as he remembered that day. Jess noticed his smile from that memory and rolled his eyes. He still hated swans to this day. "Jess Mariano, you need to stop doubting yourself. This is a good thing and just enjoy it." At that Luke sent Jess back downstairs to the diner before Kirk burned his things. As the two men walked down the stairs, Luke babbled on about his limited knowledge of Philadelphia.

"Alright, I'll be off then." Jess said as Luke pulled him into a manly hug. They patted each other on the back and almost smiled at each other. "Thank you, for everything." Jess smirked as he picked up his bag and left Luke's Diner, a place that had almost become home. As Jess drove out of the Small Town Mental Asylum, as he fondly called it, he reminisced on the fact that nothing good had really ever come to him, except for Luke and Rory. It was always nice to know that he was related to _someone _who wasn't a whack job. Rory was probably the _best _thing that had ever happened to him and he surely knew how to screw that up. It didn't matter anymore because she wanted to move to Philadelphia to be with him. It was a little overwhelming and Jess had never experienced anything like this before in his entire life. At his almost-thirty-year-old life, he still had a lot to learn about the good things in life.

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Rory arrived back at the Connecticut Daily News completely satisfied. She was satisfied that she was going to move in with Jess in Philadelphia and they had irked a few other customers at the café from their kissing. It was a strangely gratifying experience and even more so when she did it with Jess. Excitedly, Rory filled out applications to the Philadelphia Inquirer. She also sent one to The New York Times, as a back up in case fate had another path for her. Rory started to work on the layout that afternoon and she couldn't wait to go to Philadelphia.

_Friday night:_

Rory Gilmore arrived that Friday night to find her grandfather's car in the driveway behind her mother's Jeep. Rory checked the time and saw that it was about 5:30pm. Rory cautiously walked into her childhood home and saw that her grandparents were sitting in the living room with Lorelai propped up on a couch.

"Hello everyone," Rory greeted to her family. "What's all this about?" Rory enquired as she kissed each person on the cheek.

"Patty Hearst here has been kidnapped." Lorelai said, referring to herself. Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's dramatic statement.

"Well, Lorelai has been put on bed rest and we thought we would bring Friday night dinner here. We're sorry that we're so early but we had to bring the cook here and prepare dinner a couple of hours early." Emily explained and Rory nodded.

"So, you brought Friday Night Dinner to Stars Hollow? Cool. I'm going to just check my emails. Sorry Grandma but I'm expecting to hear from The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory explained as she pulled her laptop out of her bag.

"Well, Rory, how is the newspaper business going?" Richard enquired and Rory replied that it was a bit slow at the moment. They had a party for her return earlier that day and that was fun. Rory stopped talking when she noticed her inbox had opened. There were two emails waiting for her: one from the New York Times and the other from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Rory read both very quickly and drew a deep breath.

"I've been asked for an interview from both newspapers. How am I going to choose?" Rory asked in desperate need for a paper bag to hyperventilate.

"Where did you apply to?" Richard enquired as he put his newspaper down in front of him.

"The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory replied and Richard laughed.

"Why would you want to go to Philadelphia?" Emily enquired, "What other option is there besides The New York Times?" Rory tried to avoid glances at everyone but they were all waiting for her answer. Lorelai understood the appeal to Philadelphia immediately. Rory had told her earlier that week about the plans to move to Philadelphia.

"Jess," Lorelai said. Emily's eyes widened in shock and Richard shrugged due to his not knowing Jess Mariano. Rory looked at her mother for reassurance.

"Who's this Jess?" Richard enquired and Lorelai explained that he was Luke's nephew.

"I thought you were going to keep her away from that boy." Emily said and Lorelai rolled her eyes. She had gotten fairly sick of that mantra.

"He's not a boy, he's a grown man." Rory started and stood up in anger. "You're just judging him from that one time, which I'll admit wasn't great. You don't even know him properly. He's incredibly smart and sweet and we love each other, okay? I love him and I'm going to Philadelphia to move in with him. He's a published author and is doing well running Truncheon Books. He has been better to me and knows me better than Logan Huntzberger ever did." Rory shouted and sat down with her arms crossed. "Grandpa, I think you'd like him." Rory said to her grandfather and he merely nodded. Everyone sat in silence for a while as Emily processed this rant that her granddaughter had given.

"Rory, I suppose you have good judge in character but I still don't think he's suitable for you. Perhaps, you can invite him over to dinner again." Emily suggested and Lorelai was impressed. Rory apologised quietly and decided that that would be a good idea. Jess had always promised that he would go see her grandmother again, preferably without a black eye.

"You're a stand up broad, Emily Gilmore." Lorelai told her mother slyly. "So, if you have your choice between The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, where will you go?" Lorelai asked her daughter and Rory didn't feel the need to think about it any longer.

"The Philadelphia Inquirer. I haven't made a Pro/Con list yet but I'll get right on that for evidence." Rory said quite decisively and her family nodded in agreement.

**A/N: Okay, that's that chapter done and dusted. Sorry for any typos. Please review. I don't think this is my best chapter but it keeps the story going along and the rest of the story may not make sense without this one. **

**I've started Chapter Twenty-Four and that should be posted fairly soon. In the meantime, I really need to eat my dinner because it is 8pm and the rice has been waiting for me for half an hour. **

**Please review.**


	24. New York

Chapter Twenty-Four – New York

**A/N: Okay, I have no exams anymore and I already had this half written so now this chapter is finished. It's more reminiscent of Jess and the next one will have actual Jess rather than memories. I'll probably update a bit more. I also wrote a rather sad story about Jess this morning, which I'm not sure if I'll publish. **

**Please enjoy this chapter. I didn't write the interview because I couldn't be bothered. You'll just have to take Rory's word for it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. I did borrow a few lines from Lorelai's Graduation Day for this episode. **

Being back in this strange city made her feel like a teenager all over again; that innocent naïve virgin that she used to be. The girl in the Chilton uniform with a blue cast on her arm. That day when she came to visit Jess Mariano was one of the best and worst days of her life. She loved spending time with Jess yet she hated that she missed her mother's graduation as a consequence. This city would always remind her of Jess, despite the fact that he didn't live here anymore. Even now as she stared blankly at the city before her, she felt so lost without him. Rory braced herself and started to walk down the street she was standing on.

"_I'm just saying, I'm no stranger to the Big Apple."_

"_You are if you're calling it the Big Apple." _

This memory made her smile and she could still hear his mocking tone after all these years. She eventually turned to a stranger and asked for directions to The New York Times. Rory followed her directions and hoped that she was going in the right direction.

_Rory and Jess arrived at the bus interchange and eventually found the right bus. _

"_I think this one's mine." Rory said, as they walked towards the door of the large vehicle._

"_Yup, the sign says Boonesville." Jess said mockingly as he leaned against the heavy door. Before Rory had a chance to protest, a tourist came up to them._

"_Excuse me, I'm so sorry to bother you. Which way is 44__th__?" The tourist asked and Rory glanced around the interchange. She eventually pointed down behind her. The tourist thanked her and walked away. Rory smiled in excitement._

"_I got asked directions!" Rory said excitedly._

"_I saw," Jess replied. _

"_He took me for a native. That's so cool." Rory said, still excited. _

"_That's very impressive. 44__th__'s the other way." Jess smirked as he pointed in the other direction. Rory's smile faded away with disappointment. _

"_Oh, no." Rory said as she swayed on the spot._

"_Sorry," Jess apologised, still smirking. _

"_Oh man, I should go find him." Rory complained but she still couldn't see him anywhere. _

"_He'll figure it out when he sees all the numbers getting smaller instead of bigger." Jess said in a mocking tone. _

"_He still thought I was a native. That's cool." Rory smiled again at the thought of hopefully not being seen as an out-of-towner in Jess' eyes. _

"_I'm your witness." Jess told her. _

Rory couldn't believe how much a city could remind her one person. Rory was finally relieved to find The New York Times. It was an impressive building. When she walked into the building, excitement filled her like a small child on Christmas morning. Rory found the current issue of The New York Times and picked it up excitedly. Horror filled her immediately as she recognised the face staring back; it was her. This was the expose on her lawsuit against Cooper Huntzberger. Rory threw down the newspaper in disgust and walked over to the receptionist. The receptionist stared at her in recognition and Rory shrugged her shoulders. She felt overwhelmed with the desire to yell at her but she remembered that she was there for a job interview. An interview for a job that she wasn't sure she wanted anymore.

"Hi, I'm Rory Gilmore and I'm here for a job interview." Rory said sweetly and the receptionist pointed through to a door. Rory thanked her and she followed the directions. As she walked down the pristine halls, she maintained her calm and buried her anger. Rory eventually found another door and beyond that, she found a large group of other people who were also waiting for a job interview. Rory sighed as she headed to another woman who held a clipboard. Rory introduced herself again and was told to wait until her name was called. Luckily, Rory had anticipated waiting for a long time and decided to start reading Mencken's _Chrestomathy _in preparation for her interview. Eventually her name was called and she jumped up in excitement. Rory headed towards the middle-aged woman in the business suit who had arrived in the waiting area from a conference room.

"Hi, I'm Rory Gilmore," Rory reached her hand out and the woman shook it graciously. She led her into the conference room and they both sat down.

"Hello Rory. My name is Anna Peyton and I'm an editor here at The New York Times. Where do you work at the moment?" Anna asked and Rory replied that she was currently at the Connecticut Daily News. Anna sat back in her chair and looked at Rory for a long minute.

"Yes, I sued Cooper Huntzberger in that lawsuit, which is the cover story for your current issue." Rory said, answering for her before she had a chance to ask. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little sick of this infamy thing. I think everyone on the East Coast knows about it." Rory explained and Anna nodded before deciding to continue with learning more about Rory.

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After the job interview, which to Rory's opinion went surprisingly well for a job that she wasn't sure she wanted. Rory decided to call her mother and tell her the good news, once she had left the building:

Lorelai: Hello?

Rory: Hey Mom, I just had my interview at The New York Times!

Lorelai: Really? How did it go? I bet you'll get it.

Rory: It was great but I was a bit annoyed at first.

Lorelai: What? Why?

Rory: Well, I looked at their current issue and it's all about my lawsuit. I thought it would've blown over by now but apparently not. I just got irritated and I could tell the woman was trying to figure out where she had seen me before. After that, we had a very pleasant conversation about journalism. I completely forgot about trying to impress her. I think she liked me.

Lorelai: That's great. So you would be happy at The New York Times?

Rory: Well, I'd love to and it sounds amazing but there's Jess to think of. Maybe I should call Paris.

Lorelai: Why Paris?

Rory: Well, she and I were talking about whether our career or our relationships were more important right before we graduated from Yale. Our careers were more important then but she's married now so I think her career is more important.

Lorelai: Why don't you wait to see how Philly pans out? If you _do _move there, I don't know how long I'll be mocking you for living in the City of Brotherly Love. I still love you. It's probably because it's called the City of Brotherly Love. God knows why.

Rory: Huh.

Lorelai: You've known Jess far too long. He's rubbing off on you. Anyways, Sookie and I are doing a William Holden marathon today. We're watching _Sabrina, Stalag 17 _and _Bridge on the River Kwai_.

Rory: Having fun being in your final trimester?

Lorelai: I can't wait to just give birth and then I can finally talk baby talk to someone other than Luke and Michel. I should probably go. We're up to where he sits with the glasses in his back pockets.

Rory: I love that bit. Alright, I'll see you when I get back to Connecticut.

Lorelai: Bye.

Rory: Bye.

Rory closed her phone and checked the time. It was only midday and Rory decided to get her map out and find Washington Square Park. Rory headed down the street and remembered how lost she felt when she came to visit Jess in New York on that fateful day. Rory eventually found the park and realised that it was smaller than she remembered. Rory sat down and continued to read _Chrestomathy _as well as look at all the other people in the park. She wondered how Jess felt when he came to the park and saw all these happy families. Rory had never learnt much about Jess' past because he refused to talk about it, even with her. She had always gotten him to open up before but his childhood seemed to be a touchy subject. Rory could definitely make a few educated guesses but had received no confirmation. She was afraid of asking Liz who was perfectly happy in Stars Hollow. Rory decided to not think of it anymore but in a place like Washington Square Park in New York, her mind was completely on Jess. After reading the same paragraph multiple times, she gave up on reading and went in search of the hotdog stand. If it weren't for the interview, she probably wouldn't be here or have Jess on her brain so much. As Rory Gilmore turned the corner, she spotted the stand and was a little surprised that it was still there. She couldn't remember exactly what the guy looked like but he probably wouldn't recognise her either.

"One with everything please," Rory ordered and waited for her hotdog. She smiled at the memory of when she first came here with Jess. Rory took the hotdog gratefully and walked back to Washington Square Park to eat. As Rory ate, she felt her phone ringing.

Rory: Hello?

Logan: Hey Rory. How's it going on the East Coast?

Rory: Logan? Are you hiding in an apartment and spying on me?

Logan: Yeah, it's me. No, I'm sorry but I'm not spying on you. My binoculars broke the other day. I'm in San Francisco. Are you in Hartford?

Rory: No, I'm in New York. I just had an interview at The New York Times and now I'm having lunch.

Logan: New York Times eh? That sounds fancy. How'd it go?

Rory: It went really well. How's the internet company in San Francisco?

Logan: Oh, everything back here is fine. I was just calling to check in and make sure everything's okay after we wrapped up that lawsuit.

Rory: Everything's fine. It's great, actually. I'm about ready to quit the Connecticut Daily News.

Logan: You're going to go work at the Times?

Rory: Maybe. Listen, I'd better go because I have to drive back to Hartford soon and I'm in New York.

Logan: Okay, I'll talk to you later.

Rory: Yeah… talk to you later.

As Rory hung up, she panicked as she realised that she had forgotten all about Logan Huntzberger. At Yale, she had never thought that possible. She had been completely in love with Jess Mariano that she'd neglected Logan. She knew she couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was moving in with Jess because she knew that they were together. Rory decided it was probably best to worry about it later and tried to remember what else she and Jess did on her mother's graduation day. Rory suddenly remembered and soon she was running towards the subway station as if it would get away from her.

_There's a record store you should check out. It's run by this insane freak who's like a walking encyclopedia for every punk and garage-band record ever made. Catalog numbers. . .it's crazy. The place is right out of High Fidelity._

Jess' voice captivated her mind and she smiled at the memory. She tried to forget about the fact that she'd left her mother's graduation gift on the stinky bus next to the guy spitting in a can. It was only now that Rory realised how much she remembered and valued about her time with Jess. Rory had a bit of difficulty finding the right subway train and she decided to call Jess.

Jess: Hello?

Rory: Jess? It's me. I'm completely lost and I really want to go back to that record store again because I never did find another copy of the Go-Go's album that was signed by Belinda. I did manage to find the hotdog stand. You wouldn't believe it but it's still there. I'm stuck in a strange city and I have nowhere to go. I could go home but I want to go to this store and I have no idea what to do.

Jess: Huh.

Rory: That's it?

Jess: Well I just listened to you rant but you haven't really asked me anything.

Rory: Which train at the subway station do I take?

Jess: The one that goes to High Fidelity.

Rory: Helpful.

Jess: The one that eventually goes to Central Park via Chinatown. You'll find it. How was your interview?

Rory: It was great. New York reminds me so much of you. Not to mention our day together here when my Mom graduated. Do you remember that?

Jess: Yep. I'll ask you more details when you come to Philly.

Rory: Yeah, I'll see you in a few days. Oh, I found it. Thanks.

Jess: Anytime. See you later.

Rory: Bye.

Rory rushed onto the train with her ticket and made sure that she sat next to a window. Excitedly she took out a different book and began to read until she reached the right stop.

Rory reached the right store and realised that it had barely changed. She looked around at the records and sighed. It felt so wrong without Jess begging her to show him her withering stare. Everything had changed so dramatically. Rory looked in the same area that she looked in before. Before she knew it, there it was. That Go-Go's album and Belinda had signed it. _This was fate_ Rory thought as she went to pay for the album. _I'm a lucky man. _Rory started to find a little freaky that she remembered everything from that day down to every word that came out of Jess' mouth. Rory decided to head home to Stars Hollow and give her mother her belated graduation gift.

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Rory arrived at around 6pm and it was already dark. She pulled up in the driveway of the Crap Shack. Rory grabbed the album and raced inside and up the stairs to where her mother was resting.

"Boy, do you look thin" Rory said in greeting. Lorelai's smile brightened at the sight of her daughter and she held out her arms, waiting for a hug. "Hi Mom," Rory said as she hugged her mother.

"Hey there dear daughter of mine. How was New York?" Lorelai enquired and Rory sat on the bed.

"Well, my interview was great and I got you something." Rory presented the bag with great excitement. Lorelai curiously opened the bag and found the record.

"The Go-Gos! That's so cool and it's signed by Belinda. Why did you get this for me?" Lorelai enquired, as happy as she was.

"It's your graduation present" Rory told her mother and it took her a minute to remember that Rory apparently owed her. "I think I got the New York Times job but there's still Philly to check out." Rory said although her mother remained silent as she looked down at Belinda's neat signature.

"Rory, my graduation was a long time ago and you really didn't need to get this for me." Lorelai told her daughter but Rory shrugged happily.

"Yeah, I know. It was fun though. New York is such a great place but it reminds me of Jess too much. I couldn't move there and work there without him. I'll just have to see what Philadelphia's like." Rory told her mother who simply smiled at her.

"Well, William Holden was amazing and I think Sabrina was the best one." Lorelai said and Rory demanded to know more about her last months of pregnancy. Rory sat in front of her mother and they both laughed and ate food as they chatted for hours.

**A/N: I know it's shorter than most chapters but I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Please Review and I'll love you forever! **


	25. Philadelphia

Chapter Twenty-Five: Philadelphia

**A/N: So this is what happens when writers have nothing to do… they write and publish lots of chapters! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls but in this chapter I own the identities of the other Truncheon Guys. **

**Please enjoy. **

Rory Gilmore arrived in the City of Brotherly Love a few days after her New York trip. She had arrived early in the morning and decided to meet Jess at a café near Locust Street. She sat where she could see the front door but also to watch the other people in the café. It was rather dull compared to a lifetime of Stars Hollow oddballs like Kirk in Luke's diner. Rory was almost bored being in this coffee shop and couldn't at all imagine why Jess would come here except for the fact that it was _nothing _like Luke's Diner. It didn't remind her of Stars Hollow at all. She'd hoped that once Jess arrived, he could explain why he and his friends always came here for coffee. She'd heard something vague about a bar that they went to on that Open Day. As Rory sat and sipped her coffee (which was nothing like Luke's), she fantasised about the possible life she could have here with Jess. They'd get an apartment because they would have two or three sources of income. The third being his sales from _The Subsect _and any other future novels. She would work at the Philadelphia Inquirer and he would still work at Truncheon Books. She'd need to find a more entertaining coffee shop that was also close to Truncheon, or on the other side of Philadelphia. As Rory was lost in her fantasies she didn't see Jess arrive and sit across from her. He gave her a slight prod and brought her out of her reverie. Rory's smile fell and she jumped when she saw Jess sitting across from her. He laughed out loud at her expression.

"You looked too happy to disrupt." Jess said as he smirked.

"That's because this place is not nearly as entertaining and distracting as Luke's. Why do you guys come here? It's so boring and the coffee isn't that great." Rory complained and Jess shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong. This place is as entertaining as Luke's in Stars Hollow." Jess stated and Rory shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, you see that guy over there? He only comes here because of the proprietor who, incidentally, is in love with that woman in the corner. Does that remind you of Luke and Lorelai, or what? The other guy is homeless and has no money yet he gets free coffee here for God knows what reason. Guy in the corner keeps meeting a woman for coffee but I think he's married to someone else. The woman who just walked in is like the female Kirk. This place is _exactly_ like Luke's. Matt and I have running bets on random people." Jess explained and Rory was impressed. She was clearly an out-of-towner.

"I think it's time I moved here and got acquainted." Rory said happily and Jess smirked back at her.

"Don't get me wrong, I haven't spoken a word to any of these people." Jess explained and Rory wasn't sure if she should be more surprised. Jess always had a great talent for observing and reading people. At least the people in Stars Hollow were crazy but loving.

"So, where is the Philadelphia Inquirer?" Rory enquired and Jess told her that it was a few blocks away. A young waitress arrived at their table and asked them to order. Rory ordered French toast and Jess ordered waffles. The waitress left the table without a word.

"Wow, the service in this place is _friendly_." Rory said sarcastically as she watched the woman's retreating figure.

"It's probably because you're here." Jess stated and Rory pouted. "She's usually so friendly and flirty when I'm here with the guys. I think she's realised that I'm taken now." Jess explained and Rory smiled instead.

"Thank God for that." Rory said as she sipped her coffee. Another waitress brought over their food and Jess thanked her politely. She left without a word and Rory found this all a bit ridiculous. "They must really hate me." Rory said and Jess shook his head. "At least I have one person in Philadelphia who likes me." Rory smiled sweetly at Jess as she said this.

"You're wrong. I love you." Jess told her and Rory blushed. She probably would never get tired of hearing those three words from Jess. It must have been hard for him to do so.

Rory cocked her head to the side and smiled at him as she said: "I love you too." Jess smirked at her before digging into his breakfast. "I hope this is better than their coffee or their waitresses who keep hitting on you." Rory said as she carved the French toast into pieces. She took a bite and nodded approvingly.

"Told you this was better than Luke's." Jess said and Rory rolled her eyes.

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After they had eaten, Jess paid and left the coffee shop to go to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Instinctively Jess placed his arm around Rory's waist and it seemed to fit there. When they were a little away from the café, Rory turned to Jess spontaneously and kissed him on the mouth. Jess reciprocated and deepened the kiss. As they broke away breathless, Jess placed his arm around Rory again and steered her towards the Philadelphia Inquirer. Rory pouted at him as they started to walk and Jess rolled his eyes.

"You'll be late otherwise," He told her simply and Rory sighed, knowing that she would.

"Well, I didn't get to kiss you when you came into the café." Rory justified and Jess shrugged.

"The look on your face was priceless though," Jess smirked and Rory hit him playfully. As they walked the few blocks to the Inquirer, Rory began to take in the life of Philadelphia. It was a very artsy city and Rory loved it. She couldn't really tell if she loved the city for what it was or because Jess Mariano was here with her. Rory loved it all anyway. They walked in silence which, was fairly unusual for them and so Rory decided to start a conversation.

"What's been going on at Truncheon?" Rory enquired.

"Nothing much. People write stuff and send it to us. We edit and perfect it before publishing. I've been writing a little bit." Jess explained and Rory beamed with pride. The conversation picked up a bit after that and eventually they reached the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"Huh," was Jess' first reaction to the building.

"It's definitely not The New York Times." Rory said as she stared up at the big brown building that bore a sign with the words _The Philadelphia Inquirer_ in that fancy newspaper script. Rory glanced down to her watch and noticed that it was midday exactly. Rory sighed as she looked back up at the big building.

"Do you really want to work in a fancy building?" Jess asked and Rory shrugged. It was still a dream to work at The New York Times but she really didn't want to do a long-distance relationship with Jess.

"I just hope that the newspaper doesn't have my face on the front." Rory said.

"It must have at some point. Your lawsuit was a big deal. Good work on suing a major newspaper magnet." Jess smirked as he looked at Rory.

"If I sued Mitchum, I'd never hear the end of it. Cooper wasn't really the newspaper magnet. I doubt he'd ever run a newspaper before Logan bowed out. Well, I guess it's now or never." Rory said as she prepared herself to go inside. Jess watched her try to calm down and he realised that she was nervous. He pulled her into a kiss and she seemed to relax at his touch.

"You'll be fine. I'll pick you up when you're done and I'll bring the car." Jess promised as he started to walk away. Rory headed into the building and made a beeline towards the current newspaper that was on a small table in-between two comfortable looking chairs. She picked it up and felt relieved that it wasn't about her lawsuit but instead an oil spill. Rory dropped the newspaper and followed the signs into another waiting area where there was another large group of people. It was all a little too déjà vu for Rory yet it relaxed her immediately, or the memory of Jess' kiss. She tried to push him out of her head as she told the receptionist that she was here for a job interview. Rory sat down on the couch and filled out an application form.

A woman around Rory's age entered the room and called out her name. Rory jumped up enthusiastically and tried to walk calmly towards her. She smiled as she shook the woman's hand.

"Hello Ms Gilmore, I am Mrs Kwan and I am a reporter here." Mrs Kwan told her. It had only occurred to Rory to notice that she was indeed Asian although she could never be sure on specifics. "Where have you been working?" Mrs Kwan asked and Rory was almost shocked that she didn't recognise her.

"The Connecticut Daily News," Rory replied as the woman nodded her head.

"I heard there was a bit of a flare up there." The woman said vaguely and Rory sighed loudly.

"Yeah, that was me. I sued Mr Huntzberger." Rory told her matter-of-factly and straightened herself in the chair.

"Well, that was fairly exciting. Where else have you worked?" Mrs Kwan asked and Rory handed her a copy of her resume.

"I worked on _The Franklin _at Chilton, I was the editor-in-chief at _The Yale Daily News _and also wrote for it. I recently worked on the Obama campaign for two years." Rory repeated her mantra and Mrs Kwan became more interested with everything that Rory said.

"How amazing is it that we have a black president? What was the campaign like?" Mrs Kwan asked enthusiastically and Rory dove into the conversation, becoming happier as it went along.

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As promised, Jess was waiting in the foyer of _The Philadelphia Inquirer_. He saw Rory rush towards him with a bright smile on her face. Jess stood up from the comfortable chair in preparation for Rory's loving hug. She threw her arms around the young man and Jess held her. They pulled back and Jess kissed her on the lips.

"Oh my God, that was the most amazing interview." Rory gushed when she pulled back from him to tell her boyfriend about the interviews.

"Oh yeah?" Jess asked as he placed his arm around her waist and led her outside to the car. Rory took this for an invitation to continue babbling.

"We were talking about Obama and journalism. I think she liked me. I have had exciting interviews like with the _Providence Journal _and _The New York Times_. I do believe that I could be happy here." Rory babbled away and stopped when she realised that Jess was driving somewhere. She had barely noticed that she had gotten in a car. "Go back!" Rory suddenly said and Jess laughed.

"Why?" Jess questioned once he'd gotten over his laughing fit.

"I missed it! I missed the sights of Philadelphia where I may or may not be living." Rory rambled and Jess rolled his eyes.

"You didn't miss anything and if you work there than you'll be going this way regularly and will eventually be sick of it." Jess told her and Rory shrugged.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked and Jess said that they were heading to Truncheon Books. Apparently the other guys were all out. Rory decided to sit back and watch Philadelphia fly by through the window. Jess continued to drive through the streets and Rory wondered whether he would be a nervous wreck driving a car with Rory because of the car accident last time. Rory did not have long to contemplate as they entered the car park of a building. Rory finally recognised the large sign that read _Truncheon Books_ and she smiled. She was happy that Jess had found his place in the world. If only she could find hers.

The sign at the entrance to _Truncheon Books _read, "_Be back later" _with a small clock that had the current time. Rory smiled as she watched Jess unlock and open the place up. It was covered in darkness and Jess headed over to the curtains and pulled them aside. The sunlight flooded through the windows and Rory span around in the middle of the room, completely surrounded by books. Rory sighed as she took in the beautiful sight.

"You know, this is basically how I imagined heaven to look. There may have been a coffee cart in the corner but this is basically it." Rory said as she looked around the bookstore of the publishing house.

"You imagined Philadelphia to be heaven?" Jess questioned and Rory laughed.

"I meant a bookstore." Rory headed over to where she spotted a familiar black book. She pulled it out and sat on the chair to read it again. She ran her fingers over the familiar words and Jess' name. "_The Subsect _by Jess Mariano," Rory said out loud as she stroked the thin book. Jess rolled his eyes at her. He couldn't believe that she had read it so many times and always loved it. He walked over and crouched next to her, reading his words over her shoulder.

"You don't have to read it again," Jess complained but Rory continued to read. She decided to put the book back on the shelf and Jess took her hand, leading her towards the other books that he thought she would like. They somehow stopped in the middle of the bookstore and faced each other. They were completely alone and felt like the last two people on earth. Jess pulled Rory closer and she leaned in for a kiss. As their lips touched, the world fell away. Rory had always enjoyed kissing Jess and he was pretty good. The moment ended all too soon when reality came crashing down on them. The loud noise of a door slamming broke Rory and Jess apart.

"Well, look what we have here." A male voice said and Rory forced herself to look over to the source of the sound. There were four young men around Jess' age standing near the doorway. Apparently the boys had come back. Rory blushed a deep crimson as she imagined what they must've walked in on.

"Perfect timing guys." Jess said sarcastically to his friends who started to come closer to the couple.

"We didn't see a sock on the door so we figured that it would be fine to walk in." A man said and he glanced at his friends for approval.

"So, Jess finally has a girlfriend. It's about time!" One of the men said and all Rory wanted to do was run and hide. She almost didn't realise that Jess' arm was back around Rory.

"Well, she's much better than a blanket." Jess deadpanned with a smirk on his face.

"She's awfully quiet. Just your type." Another one said. They all started to blur together in Rory's mind. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" The man asked and Jess shrugged. Rory realised that she vaguely remembered two of them from the Open Day here.

"Okay, this is Chris, Matt, Peter and Kyle. Everyone, this is Rory Gilmore." Jess introduced and Rory waved in greeting, still embarrassed from earlier.

"What do you do Rory?" The one named Matt asked.

"Apart from Jess" Chris interjected and the men fell back into laughter, including Jess.

"I'm a journalist. I'm currently at the Connecticut Daily News and I'm applying for a job at another newspaper." Rory explained and they stood and listened.

"You're going to work at the Inquirer?" Peter enquired.

"I hope so." Rory said with a smile and looked over at Jess. A chorus of 'awws' from the men caused for Rory's blush to reappear. Jess hit Kyle playfully to stop them and he was also closest. Kyle moaned in pain and Matt rolled his eyes.

"I guess we'll have to start reading _The Philadelphia Inquirer _if you get the job." Chris said but Peter insisted that they didn't because she would be there tell them what was going on outside of _Truncheon_. Rory laughed out loud at this and decided that she would be happy to.

"Can you guys please tell me how Jess ended up here? He won't tell me a thing." Rory asked and the guys invited her to sit down on a chair. They all grabbed other chairs and sat around them. Rory realised that this was going to be a long story. Rory gave an apologetic look to Jess but she really was curious. Jess buried his head in Rory's arm.

"Well, this guy comes stumbling into our coffee shop…" Chris started and Jess interjected to tell Rory that it was the same one they were in that morning with the flirting waitresses. "Right, anyway, we're all enjoying our coffee and flirting with the waitresses. We had only started _Truncheon Books _and had gathered a few writers. This guy comes in and sits down in the corner and begins to write in a pad of paper. I come up to him and ask to see what he's writing, pretending it's the Philadelphia Way. Nothing wrong with a bit of Brotherly Love 'cause this is definitely the place for it." Chris continues and Matt finally hits him, reminding him to get back to the point. "He doesn't believe me." Chris continues.

"Go figure," Kyle scoffs and Chris rolls his eyes.

"I still don't. This guy has no concept of privacy." Jess retorts.

"Can I please continue with the story?" Chris asks and everyone stops talking. "This guy is pissed as hell at me. He has this whole leather jacket James Dean thing going and writing furiously. He downs a shot of caffeine and leaves the shop. Luckily for us, he also leaves his notepad with writing. Me, apparently not having any concept of privacy, takes the notepad and reads it. It's not that bad and Jess comes back and takes the notepad but not before punching me. He leaves and Kyle says 'I like this guy.' Matt runs out after him and convinces him that he's a great writer and all great writers need to take a bottle of chill pills. He walks away and we don't see him again until midnight where we are all drunk." Chris tells them and Kyle shushes him, insisting that there is a lady in their presence.

"It's okay, I've dealt with drunk men at Yale." Rory tells them but refrains from mentioning a certain blonde ex-boyfriend to Jess. "I was always the designated driver." She insists.

"Yale?" Peter raises his eyebrow, impressed.

"We find him sleeping on a bench with said notepad. I take his notepad again and he's written more. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Kyle wants to wake him up and bring him back to _Truncheon._ I think he was too tired to complain. We let him stay here and refuse to let him leave. He writes everything while we get the Zine up and running. Jess has been a big help and he kind of stuck around. _The Subsect _eventually took shape and we all thought it was amazing so we decided to publish it. Jess Mariano: This is your life." Chris finally concludes and sees that Rory is beaming with pride. "That was the Reader's Digest version and we took care of his anger towards the world in general, especially small towns." This rings a bell in Rory's head. She knew that Jess was not always welcoming to Stars Hollow and often caused trouble there. There was always one place that Jess would always call 'home' in Stars Hollow and that was the bridge. Rory was also sure that Luke's would've been better than whatever horrible life he was forced to leave behind in New York.

"Well, that was very interesting and I'll bet he was mad." Rory said and looked over to see that Jess was reading a book during his story. She smiled at his modesty although he didn't look up until Chris had concluded.

"Where did you grow up?" Kyle enquired and Jess shot him a glare. Kyle ignored this and focussed on Rory. She looked between Kyle and Jess for approval

There was a knock at the door and Peter suddenly remembered that they had left the door closed but the Open sign was showing. The young men scattered throughout the bookstore while Rory and Jess remained in the corner. Right before Peter opened the door, he shouted: "We'll keep the bedroom clear for you lovebirds!" Rory blushed again and Jess shouted for them to shut up. Echoes of laughter filled the bookstore and the customers arrived and started to wander around.

"Back to the salt mines." Jess stated as he stood up, ready to go back to work again. Rory pouted at him from below and he smirked in response. A couple of customers apologised quietly for intruding on their moment. Jess shrugged and he offered his hand to Rory, who took it graciously and she stood next to him.

"I have to go. It's about a 3 hour drive back to Hartford." Rory told him and Jess remained emotionless. "I hate this long distance thing but it will at least be closer in New York if I don't get the job at the Inquirer." Rory said and this appeased him a little. Jess had never had a long-distance relationship and he hated every mile that separated him from Rory. Jess pulled Rory into a kiss and she was a little surprised that he would do this in front of his customers, in front of his friends, in front of his roommates. The world melted away once more and Rory forgot all those people she was worried about. They vaguely heard the words of someone telling the customers to leave the lovebirds alone but they ignored it. Rory and Jess were in their own world. They were in what Rory always imagined heaven to be. For Jess, heaven was always wherever Rory was.

Half an hour later, Rory drove away from Jess in her car that she had left at the coffee shop. It was hard to part Jess after she'd heard what had happened after she'd rejected him that last time. It was difficult to hear of the pain that she'd inflicted upon him but Rory refused to remember the pain that Jess had caused her. They were finally in a good place and both finally ready for an adult relationship. It was up to fate now whether she would be in New York or Philadelphia. It was up to fate to decide whether their relationship would be thrown _another _curveball. Rory was ready for anything now and all she had to do was wait for her acceptances. If she had been accepted into both newspapers, she would definitely have a hard time choosing.

**A/N: Thank you to Curley-Q, Summer2391 and gsrl4eva87 for reviewing! It brought me much happiness. So, this is the Philadelphia story (not like the movie but it is a good movie). I did decide to come up with a Jess story, which is rather brief. I also obviously made up the names of the other two Truncheon guys. If anyone is interested in Jess' story, then check out **_**Cedar Park **_**by TheRealDodger. It's very good. **

**Please review. **


	26. The Waiting Game

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Waiting Game

**A/N: I know! I know! It's been **_**forever **_**since I last updated! I'm really sorry but school has been so crazy and recently I've been in such a creative writing mood (that may have come from doing two creative responses for school) and I had such a dull day today, I just decided to finish this. I do love reviews! They make me happy! **

**I also started a Gilmore Girls crossover with Six Feet Under called Mourning Rory Gilmore. There are two chapters up at the moment but I've really lost momentum for that story so if no one looks at it any time soon, I'll probably delete it. Go check it out and let me know what you think **

Waiting was pure agony for Rory Gilmore in the weeks that followed the newspaper interviews. She knew that she had made a good impression at _The New York Times _and _The Philadelphia Inquirer_. She had also applied and had interviews at other newspapers but they weren't nearly as interesting. It was so difficult for her to pick just _one _newspaper to work at. Waiting to hear if she had gotten the job at any newspaper was horrendous. She irritated herself and those around her with the waiting game. Rory continued to work at _The Connecticut Daily News _but she had lost interest as she waited to hear back from the prestigious newspaper organisations. Somehow both cities reminded her of Jess Mariano. Where New York reminded her of Jess, Philadelphia had brought her to be with Jess. Where she had always wanted to work at _The Times _and live in New York, she only considered Philadelphia as an option because of Jess. She'd promised herself that she would never make a career decision based on a guy. Why would she break that promise now? Rory could suddenly hear her biological clock ticking, as she knew she wasn't getting any younger. She had wanted a family and her mother had her when she was sixteen. Rory could barely remember when she was sixteen and could hardly imagine having a grown up kid with Dean. Rory pushed the 'family' thought aside and set back to work at _The Connecticut Daily News_.

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Lorelai Gilmore and Lane Kim, the two pregnant women of Stars Hollow, sat upon Lorelai's bed watching _Rosemary's Baby_. Despite the fact that Sookie had warned them against watching that movie while they were pregnant, Lorelai managed to persuade Lane into watching it now. As they watched Mia Farrow run away from the Satan-Worshipping Freaks (as Lorelai so affectionately named them), Lane held onto her pillow tightly while Lorelai sat there gleefully. Eventually the movie ended and Lorelai switched off the television. She looked over to Lane, whom she considered another daughter, with a wide smile. Lane looked back at her with a horrified expression.

"Oh, come on. It was not that bad." Lorelai said as she rolled her eyes at Lane's expression. Lane's mouth dropped in shock as she hugged the pillow tighter.

"Are you kidding? I think Sookie's right. That is the worst movie ever to watch while you're pregnant." Lane said and Lorelai shook her head in disagreement. "Can we watch something happy now? How about _The Odd Couple_?" Lane suggested and Lorelai sighed as she struggled to get off the double bed. Eventually finding the right tape next to the video player, she sank back down next to Lane.

"Have you seen Rory much since the trial?" Lane enquired, realising that she hadn't heard much from her best friend. Although Rory was normally a quiet person, Lane had only felt neglected on that one night when they were sixteen during the snow storm. Lorelai, on the other hand, smiled widely, as she thought of her beautiful and successful daughter, grown-up-hooligan-dating aside.

"Well, it's her trial's fault that I'm so stressed out apparently. Apart from her trial, I haven't heard from her much. She's been travelling around the country for job interviews at various newspapers. I don't know why she still has her job at the Connecticut Daily News. It's probably for money for not doing anything. She's come down the Hollow to try and visit you as well. Apparently, you've been a busy bee. Where have you been?" Lorelai turned to Lane, who looked a little guilty.

"Yeah, I know she's tried to visit me but always on days when I have to go get cleaning supplies or I have to take Steve and Kwan out somewhere. We should organise for her to come visit her pregnant mother and best friend." Lane decided and Lorelai laughed at the idea. Turning back to the television, Lorelai and Lane continued to dig into the healthy yet obscure food. "After having Steve and Kwan, I developed a greater understanding of Oscar Madison." Lane announced and Lorelai smiled at her.

"He's such a pig. Rory sometimes calls me Oscar." Lorelai said.

"And you call her Felix," Lane finished her sentence for her and Lorelai nodded in agreement.

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As Rory typed away furiously on her article, grateful not to have any interruptions from bosses hitting on her, she kept glancing at the clock. She knew it was only a day away until she found out about which jobs she got. Although she had applied at quite a few newspapers with plenty of great job interviews, she really only cared about The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. If she only got one offer that would make life easier but not necessarily better. Rory, once again, tried to push this out of her mind as she wrote an article for her current job. It was only a few minutes later that her mobile phone started to ring. Not recognising the number, Rory picked up the phone with a little hesitance.

Rory: Hello?

NYT: Hello, is this Rory Gilmore?

Rory: Yes, this is Rory.

NYT: This is Anna Peyton from the New York Times. We had an interview a couple of weeks ago. How are you today?

Rory: Yes, that's right. I'm fine, thank you.

NYT: That's great. I'm calling to let you know that you have been successful with your interview and we are offering you a writing job here at the New York Times.

Rory: Wow! That's great! Thank you so much! I am curious to hear about how I did with a couple of other papers though. When do I need to get back to you?

NYT: Oh, maybe in a week. If your other interviews were around the same time, then they should be contacting you soon.

Rory: Well, I will definitely think about it and let you know next week. Thank you so much.

NYT: You're welcome. You're a great writer and I look forward to hearing from you.

Rory hung up the phone with a wide smile on her face. She had finally received a job offer at The New York Times! It only took years of working crappy jobs like the Obama Campaign and the Connecticut Daily News to get to this point. There was still the Philadelphia Inquirer to hear back from too. What if she didn't get that one? Would she have to have a long distance relationship with Jess? Completely confused, Rory dialled the familiar number but instantly regretting it with each dial tone.

Jess: Hello?

Rory: Hey, it's me.

Jess: Hey there. How's Hartford?

Rory: Dull. I was calling because I just got a phone call from the New York Times. They offered me a job and I thought you should know.

Jess: Huh… well, that's great. Congratulations. When do you think you'll hear from the Inquirer?

Rory: Hopefully soon. What if I don't get that one? Do we try long-distance?

Jess: We're already doing long-distance.

Rory: Right, well, I don't know what to do. I think I should wait for the Inquirer though.

Jess: I agree. Oh, I have to run. I think Matt's losing his patience with the poet. I'll talk to you later?

Rory: Yeah, sure. Bye.

Jess: Bye.

Rory hung up the phone and settled back into her work, which was not stimulating at all.

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Lorelai Gilmore was bored of bedrest. However much she always liked the idea of staying in bed for two months, it was officially boring. It was even more boring on her own, which was why she had invited Lane over in the first place. Lane, however, was Rory's age and the idea of pregnant mother and daughter frightened her dreadfully! Lorelai always loved Lane as a second daughter but that loss of mutual blood eased her. Rory wouldn't be home until the weekend and Emily was planning on moving their Friday Night Dinners to Lorelai's bed. There was no escape from Emily Gilmore! Now that Lane had gone home, feeling happier after _The Odd Couple_, Lorelai was bored. She tried to watch _Casablanca _but that did not entertain her for long. Lorelai eventually gave up on bed rest and managed to get out of her bed. She didn't remember being this big when she was pregnant with Rory. After the pain in her ankles eased, Lorelai managed to waddle around her bed and slowly down the stairs. She was determined to get out of the house! Pain shot through her legs but Lorelai didn't care.

"Why, hello there living room. It's been so long. We really must catch up at some point!" Lorelai said sarcastically at the room as she waddled down the stairs. She sighed when she realised that no one was there to share this feat. Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief once she had made it all the way downstairs. Grabbing her jacket, Lorelai kept her momentum and headed out of the house. Before Lorelai had completely closed the front door, she heard the unwelcome screech of Babette's voice.

"Sugar! What are you doing out here? You need to go back to bed!" Babette screeched as she ran over to Lorelai, who was hiding her face and cringing. Slowly she turned around and assured her neighbour that she was perfectly fine.

"Look, I'm just going to go to Luke's because the house is boring," Lorelai insisted and Babette then offered to drive her. Reluctantly, she agreed and so Babette took Lorelai's keys and they walked over to her Jeep. Throughout the relatively short drive to Luke's, Babette peppered questions at Lorelai who answered them in a nonchalant manner. She was relieved to see that small yellow coffee mug that read: Luke's. Lorelai quickly thanked Babette and would've jumped out of the car had it not been for her swollen ankles and large stomach. Lorelai slowly waddled to the front door of the diner and stumbled through the door. Luckily Luke had arrived at the door to welcome her. He led her to a nearby empty chair before kissing her on the lips.

"Hello crazy lady. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on bed rest!" Luke said after they parted. He couldn't be completely mad at her, as he had missed her over the last few weeks since Rory's lawsuit.

"Well, after a while, the same four walls get a little boring. At least in prison, they can occasionally walk outside with no difficulty. Being pregnant is like its own special prison." Lorelai complained before begging for a cup of coffee with caffeine.

"You can only have decaf coffee." Luke told her sternly and Lorelai pouted in response.

"Please?" Lorelai begged and Luke simply left her to go back to the counter. He returned with a mug of coffee and Lorelai pouted as she drank the decaffeinated coffee. "So, what's it like in the real world that isn't a bedroom?"

"Well, if you mean by the real world, in this diner I serve food, Kirk bugs me and occasionally I get to see my pregnant wife." Luke said as he looked at Lorelai as if she was the only person in the room. At this, she coloured a little as she sipped at the coffee. She was only just starting to get used to the taste and this began to irritate her.

"Well, back in my bedroom, Lane and I watched _Rosemary's Baby_" Lorelai started before being interrupted by Luke who agreed with Sookie that this was a bad movie to watch while you were pregnant. Lorelai simply laughed before continuing: "And then we watched _The Odd Couple _to cheer Lane up because she freaked out. Don't know why." Lorelai smiled at this and suddenly Zach appeared at the table. He was filling for Lane as per usual when she was pregnant or busy with newborns.

"Hey, Luke, man. There's a woman complaining about there being no chips and we have to get back to work, man. It's just not rock 'n' roll like this. We have to work hard." Zach complained and Luke rolled his eyes at Lorelai who smiled back. Suddenly noticing Lorelai, Zach turned and quickly greeted her before dragging Luke away.

"Hey, before you go, can you please get me a cheeseburger with onion rings and some pie for dessert!" Lorelai called out and Luke nodded at her. Lorelai smiled widely and sat back in her uncomfortable red chair. "It's so good to be back." She said to herself as she looked around at the other townsfolk.

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Half an hour later, with her article finished, Rory took this opportunity with Angela to get a cup of coffee at the local café. They had not gone there since before the lawsuit and both women were caffeine deprived. This place had excellent coffee and great donuts. It wasn't Luke's but it was close enough.

"Hey, I just got a job offer from The New York Times" Rory announced and Angela jumped up and down in excitement. She stopped when she realised that Rory wasn't doing the same.

"Isn't that exciting? Why are you not happy about this? Isn't this what you've always wanted? Wasn't working at the CDN your stepping stone to _The Times_?" Angela enquired as they each carried a cup of coffee to a booth in the corner.

"It's very exciting," Rory agreed unenthusiastically. Angela raised an eyebrow at her so Rory continued: "It is what I have been working for or what I thought I was working for. I want to work at The New York Times because I think it would be exciting to work there and live in an apartment. I also really want to work at the Philadelphia Inquirer because of Jess. I don't like this long-distance thing between us." Rory explained as they sipped their coffee.

"This is Jess, your step-cousin?" Angela enquired and Rory rolled her eyes.

"We don't like to think about it otherwise it get's awkward. It doesn't help when Mom and Luke point it out though." Rory replied.

"Well, in a hypothetical situation you get offers from both, which would you rather choose?" Angela asked but Rory shook her head.

"I can't choose but I will have to. Right before my graduation from Yale, Paris and I were talking about whether our careers or our relationships were more important. The consensus ended up being our careers being more important, no matter how much I tried to deny it. That was when I was twenty-two. Now I'm twenty-eight. I'm almost in my thirties. What twenty-eight-year-old lives in an apartment in New York? They have boyfriends or fiancés at this stage." Rory rambled while Angela patiently listened.

"We have boyfriends. We do not sit at home knitting tea cosies surrounded by cats. You'll be fine anywhere. People are getting married later and later these days." Angela assured her and Rory's mind wandered back to Logan.

"I wonder what my life would be like had I decided to marry Logan after graduation. I probably wouldn't be in this dilemma. I may not even be speaking to Jess, let alone dating him." Rory sipped at her coffee, which was going cold at this point.

"That's called cheating." Angela joked, "look, you'll be fine. You just need to stop panicking and calmly decide between the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Shall we change the subject?"

"Yes, how's Marty?" Rory enquired and soon they delved into a fluffy girly conversation about their men before heading back to the daily grind.

It was only a few days later when the other phone call came. Rory arrived at the Connecticut Daily News a little late and was about to enter a staff conference when her phone number began to ring. Once again, it was an unfamiliar number but a different one to the previous one.

Rory: Hello?

PI: Hello, is this Rory Gilmore?

Rory: Yes, this is she.

PI: Hello Rory, this is Mrs Kwan from the Philadelphia Inquirer. We had an interview a couple of weeks ago.

Rory: Yes, I remember.

PI: Well, I'm calling to tell you that you have been successful for a job offer here at the Inquirer.

Rory: Really? That's great! Thank you so much.

PI: You're welcome. Just let us know sometime next week if you want to come with us definitely. You sound very enthusiastic.

Rory: Yes, I'll definitely let you know then. Thank you so much.

PI: You're welcome. I look forward to hearing from you next week.

Rory hung up the phone with a wide smile on her face. She spun around and danced happily in the newspaper office. She barely noticed other reporters watching her before Angela led her back to her seat.

"I got an offer at The Philadelphia Inquirer!" Rory announced happily.

"Congratulations. Does that mean you've made your decision?" Angela asked and Rory shrugged.

"I don't know. I think it's time for a famous Rory Pro/Con list." Rory said before they hugged and jumped up and down like high school girls. After they parted, Angela went back to her desk and Rory quietly filled out an application to leave her job. Rory hid it out of everyone else's view so they would not ruin her happiness in filling it out.

Mr Henderson was sitting and working at his desk. Without a word, Rory sat down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

"Hello, Ms Gilmore. How is your article going?" He enquired and Rory assured him that it was done. A little confused, Mr Henderson then asked how he could help Rory.

"I would like to tell you that I am quitting this newspaper and this job. I quit and this is my application and my two weeks notice." Rory said a little happily as she presented the filled out form. "I would like it to be effective immediately but I can wait two weeks. I have just received two job offers: One at The New York Times and another at The Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory announced.

"Congratulations on your job offers. This newspaper won't quite be the same without you. You're going to go on to The New York Times, right?" Mr Henderson said and Rory shrugged.

"Maybe. I don't really know." Rory said, before continuing about her resignation: "So, can we make it effective? I'd really like to go back to Stars Hollow and see my Mom while I make a decision." Mr Henderson scratched his head at this and decided.

"Yes, we can make it effective immediately." Rory Gilmore and Mr Henderson shook hands before she skipped out of his office. She immediately ran for Angela and pulled her into another hug.

"Please keep in touch, wherever you are!" Angela squealed and Rory promised to do so. Rory took the box out from under her desk. She had kept it there, knowing that she would not be at The Connecticut Daily News. Immediately she dropped all her personal items into the box, with the picture of her and Jess on top of the other random stuff. On her way out, she waved 'goodbye' at Angela and at Mr Henderson as she passed his office. Once she reached the elevator with her box, Rory took out her cell phone and called Jess.

"Hey, guess what? I just got offered a job at the Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory told her boyfriend as the metal elevator doors closed once she was inside.

**A/N: Hmmm… which newspaper? Well, I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for the wait. I only have one more month of school left *excitement* and after that, I don't know how often I'll be updating. Next year, I'm planning on doing a Bachelor of Creative Writing, so I can hopefully be a better writer. **

**Please review! **


	27. Decisions

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Decisions

**A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry that I've been neglecting this story for such a long time. I have had really bad writer's block and thanks to Summer2391 (your message did not go unnoticed. I'm very sorry for not responding) for prompting me to continue. Anyways, here is Chapter 27 at long last! I promise to start the next chapter immediately! **

Rory's blue Toyota Prius pulled into the driveway of The Crap Shack. Rory jumped out of the car and ran straight into her childhood home. She opened the door widely and was disappointed to be received by silence. Rory looked around the living room before moving to the kitchen and her bedroom.

"Huh," was her only response. "Guess I've been spending too much time with Jess," she joked to herself after her previous monosyllabic answer. After dumping her bag on the old single bed that she used to sleep in, Rory silently climbed up the stairs to her mother's bedroom. She opened the door to find Luke kissing a very pregnant Lorelai. Rory, involuntarily, screamed and the elder couple broke apart. Rory blushed deeply before running down the stairs and back into her bedroom. She had seen her mother kiss other men before as well as Luke. She didn't remember her mother being so… _pregnant _though. Rory lay down on her bed and put another pillow on top of her head. This did not remove the image of her mother and stepfather kissing from her mind; it was permanently burnt into her brain. There was a quiet knock at the door followed closely by her mother saying: "wait for me!" Rory giggled as she thought of her heavily pregnant mother waddling down the stairs. Eventually the door opened and her mother decided to waddle in uninvited. She sat down on her bed and forced Rory to move a little. Once she was comfortably situated, Lorelai smiled at her daughter. Luke left the mother and daughter to bond in her room as he decided to head back to the diner.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that." Lorelai apologised and Rory shrugged. "I remember one time that Chris and I were kissing horizontal on my bed and my Mom walked in on us." Lorelai reminisced.

"Don't tell me that your daughter walking in was worse than Emily Gilmore." Rory said, holding her breath.

"No, but it just reminded me of that. So, what are you doing in The Hollow?" Lorelai enquired and Rory braced herself to announce the news.

"Well, I always like coming to Stars Hollow to make a life-changing decision." Rory started to catch her mother's interest, which succeeded in doing so. Lorelai sat up and waited for the news until something dawned on her.

"Oh my God! You're going to marry Jess!" Lorelai jumped to conclusion but before she could rant about why Rory would not be able to do that, she caught her daughter's confusion. "That's not it, is it?" Lorelai asked hesitantly and Rory shook her head.

"I quit the Connecticut Daily News and I have been offered jobs at The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory finally announced and Lorelai tried to jump up and down on the bed but ended up laughing at her failure to do so. Rory then hugged her mother who congratulated her.

"It's going to be The New York Times, right? What's the big decision?" Lorelai asked and Rory sighed. Everyone thought she would go to The New York Times. Even she thought she would be at The Times. Would she give up her lifelong dream for a guy? But wasn't just _any _guy. It was Jess Mariano.

"It might _not _be The New York Times…" Rory said hesitantly. "I don't know if I want to do a long-distance relationship with Jess. I know that New York's closer but it's not as close as Philadelphia."

"You're doing long-distance now." Lorelai pointed out and Rory mumbled about Jess pointing out the same thing. "I guess it's time for Luke's and a Pro/Con list." Lorelai suggested and Rory agreed. She grabbed her pad of paper and a few pens before helping her mother off the bed. "Hey, is it weird for you for your mother to be pregnant? Especially when you're almost in your thirties?" Lorelai asked and Rory playfully hit her on the arm.

"Thanks for the reminder about how old I am." Rory said sarcastically as she tried to get her mother to waddle faster towards the front door. "I know you're supposed to be on bed rest but we need to get there before it closes!" Rory joked.

Eventually, Rory and Lorelai did reach Luke's diner. They sat down at their usual table and skimmed the familiar menu. Rory hesitantly pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and divided the paper into two neat columns.

"What was our Pro/Con list food?" Lorelai enquired and Rory scrunched up her eyes as she tried to remember the last time they made a list at Luke's.

"It feels like a thousand years ago when we last made a Pro/Con list." Rory remarked. "It probably wasn't anything healthy so if you're having any cravings for grapefruit, ignore them!" Rory told her mother in a sharp manner.

"Right, give up the grapefruit!" Lorelai said confidently before hesitantly adding "what about eggplant ice cream?" Rory lay her head down on the cool table in frustration and Lorelai merely laughed at her. When Luke arrived at their table, Rory rapidly ordered two cheeseburgers with a side of chilli fries before Lorelai could interrupt. Turning their attention back to the Pro/Con list, Rory wrote down the respective distances from Jess in regard to the newspaper offers.

"The New York Times is a better newspaper," Lorelai pointed out and Rory wrote it down in the Pro column.

"I suppose so," Rory reluctantly agreed. "I think I need to go talk to Paris after she finishes work today."

"Why Paris?" Lorelai questioned.

"She doesn't write Pro/Con lists to make her decisions. She just becomes a nervous wreck." Rory joked and Lorelai's eyes widened in mock shock.

"Are you telling me that there are people out there who _don't _write Pro/Con lists to make important life decisions?" Lorelai asked with a mock gasp and Rory nodded.

"So, what do you think I should do?" Rory asked with a serious tone and Lorelai sighed.

"I think you should follow your heart… even if it is for a guy who has hurt you before." Lorelai decided and Rory smiled in agreement.

"Jess won't hurt me again. He's matured now and has a steady job that isn't at Walmart." Rory told her mother.

"Yeah, it seems like he has his life together. When you move to the City of Brotherly Love, you have to call me a lot." Lorelai said and Rory promised that she would.

"I think I'll still see Paris later today." Rory said.

"What?" Lorelai questioned loudly, unintentionally attracting attention from other customers.

"Well, I'd better get another opinion. A third opinion." Rory explained and Lorelai gasped in shock.

"It took me so long to give you a second opinion. Now you're going to go search for a _third_?" Lorelai questioned and barely noticed that Luke had arrived, carrying their food. Luke quietly placed the food on the table before walking away quietly.

"Well, yeah." Rory said and Lorelai decided to switch the subject for their lunch. At that moment, Rory's mobile phone started to ring and she announced that Jess was calling her.

"Hmm… send your boyfriend my Brotherly Love!" Lorelai called out as Rory answered the phone.

Rory: Hello?

Jess: Hey. Who was that sending Brotherly Love to me?

Rory: Mom. We're at Luke's discussing newspapers. How is the City of Brotherly Love going anyway? And Truncheon Books?

Jess: It's still there. How's the medical experiment disguised as a one-horse town?

Rory: Fine. Was there a reason for this phone call? I think that Luke has noticed that I'm using a cell phone in the diner.

Jess: Nah. Just checking in. Bye

Rory: Bye.

"Jess sends his Brotherly Love back." Rory joked and Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"Does he know that?"

"Nope." Rory said cheekily before taking a bite out of the big cheeseburger.

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Rory wandered through the Town Square and watched the multitudes of people setting up for what could only be yet another obscure festival. Kirk was shouting into a megaphone and being ignored by everyone else, as per usual. Taylor Doose was looking disapprovingly at the way a few men were attempting to hang a giant star. Laughing to herself, she continued her way to Lane's house. Luckily, it wasn't that far away from the Town Square. However, everywhere in Stars Hollow was right next to the Square. Once she reached the house, Rory knocked on the door and her childhood friend let her in.

"Hi Lane. How are you? Where are Steve and Kwan?" Rory asked as she was led to the living room.

"Hi, I'm fine. The boys are at the park with Zach. So, you said you wanted to talk to me about something." Lane prompted.

"Right, I was wondering if you could give me an opinion on a situation." Rory started. "I have been offered jobs at _The New York Times _and the _Philadelphia Inquirer_." Rory announced and Lane's mouth dropped open.

"That is _so _amazing! Congratulations!" Lane jumped up as best as she could and gave Rory a big hug. "So, what's the problem?"

"I need to choose one." Rory said.

"Is this a trick question?" Lane asked.

"No, why would this be a trick question?" Rory asked and Lane laughed.

"Because you're obviously going to go to _The New York Times_. That's what you've always wanted for as long as you've wanted to go to Harvard and study journalism." Lane said.

"True, but I ended up at Yale." Rory pointed out and Lane nodded knowingly.

"But, if it's always been your dream, why are you not packing your bags to go to New York this minute? Why are you hesitating?" Lane asked and Rory shrugged.

"It's nothing, it's completely stupid. You're right. I'll go pack my bags. It's just…" Rory trailed off into silence.

"Just?" Lane prompted.

"Jess," Rory sighed.

"Oh, I'm _such _an idiot. Of course Jess is a big factor. I'm really sorry." Lane apologised.

"So, which do I choose?" Rory asked.

"That is a conundrum. Which one do you want to work at?" Lane asked.

"I don't know." Rory said.

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Lorelai Gilmore was still sitting in Luke's diner long after Rory had left. Being pregnant had made her feel immobile and sore. As she sat at the table, eating yet another piece of pie, Sookie St. James entered Luke's diner.

"Hey, shouldn't you be on bed rest?" Sookie asked as she spotted Lorelai.

"I got bored of bed rest. Plus there's people to talk to here, like you!" Lorelai said.

"Of course. So, how's the pregnancy going? Eating lots of fruit?" Sookie enquired and Lorelai shrugged.

"It's alright. It's doing its thing. I'm getting pretty close to going into labour. I could end up giving birth here in the diner!" Lorelai said.

"I don't think anyone would expect you to do any different." Sookie said. "So, how's Rory?"

"Busy. She's talking to Lane as we speak about whether she should work at _The New York Times _or _The Philadelphia Inquirer_." Lorelai said.

"Wow, that's exciting! Which one do you want her to work at?" Sookie enquired.

"I would prefer _The New York Times_." Lorelai said and Sookie nodded.

"You want her to stay away from Jess, right?" Sookie prompted and Lorelai's mouth dropped open in shock.

"No, I want her to be happy. It has been her life goal to work at _The New York Times_." Lorelai said and Sookie raised her eyebrows at her in disbelief. "Fine, maybe I do want her to stay away from Jess. I think it's just a habit from before. Either way, she'll be far away from here." Lorelai said. Luke then came over with a cup of coffee for Sookie and they decided to order a piece of pie each. Returning to the conversation, Lorelai asked Sookie to tell her something happy.

"Martha's birthday is coming up!" Sookie announced.

"That is happy." Lorelai said. "Are you throwing her a party?" As Sookie began to answer her questions, Lorelai began to feel a bit weak. Sookie quickly held Lorelai's hand in an effort t steady her while Luke rushed over to also help his wife, announcing that the diner was closed for the rest of the day. "Maybe I should have stayed at home." Lorelai wheezed out as Luke called for an ambulance. Sookie tried to calm Lorelai down and remembering what she went through with her own pregnancies. Luke slammed the phone down loudly when he was done and ran over to Lorelai, who decided to try to stand up. As soon as she had risen above the chair, her legs gave way and she almost fell but Luke caught her. He then helped her to his car while Sookie decided to follow in her minivan to Hartford Memorial Hospital.

As Luke drove his old green truck towards Hartford, he occasionally glanced over at Lorelai, who was slowly waking up.

"Don't worry, we're almost there – ish." Luke said, trying to calm her down.

"Am I dying?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"I don't think so. I'm not generally very good at this. Maybe I should call Rory." Luke babbled and continued driving.

"You're doing alright," Lorelai said with a weak smile on her face. She then tried to fumble around her seat to recline the car seat a little. Lorelai took the opportunity to think back to her first pregnancy. It had been so long ago but she could still remember getting the bus to the hospital. She had no idea how she had managed to survive that. It hadn't helped that her mother was yelling at her for leaving a note as she was being wheeled off to the delivery room. The memories made her smile a little. She could remember everything. It had helped that she told the same story to her daughter every year at 4:03 in the morning. "Doing the splits on a crate of dynamite," Lorelai whispered aloud.

"What?" Luke asked.

"It's how I described labour to Rory." Lorelai explained and Luke laughed. This seemed to make him relax a little and focus on breaking a few traffic laws to get to Hartford. Leaning back into her chair, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Luke took this opportunity to call Rory and let her know what was going on.

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After a bit of a debate about newspapers, Rory and Lane decided to avoid the subject for a while. They had also talked about Hep Alien and the twin boys, not to mention Lane's pregnancy. Rory was still unable to completely digest the fact that both her best friend and her mother were close to giving birth. They were both relieved that Lane was only carrying one baby this time and thus was not nearly as big as she used to be. Currently they were talking about the uselessness of energy efficient light bulbs.

"It's a complete waste of space!" Lane complained and Rory nodded in agreement.

"I think that's the consensus." Rory said. Suddenly there was a familiar ringing sound and Rory reached for her mobile phone. She saw that it was Luke calling and panicked a little. "Hello?" she answered and listened to Luke as he told her what had happened with Lorelai. Shocked, she disconnected and placed the phone on the coffee table in silence.

"What's wrong?" Lane asked and Rory shrugged.

"I don't know. Something happened with Mom and she's on her way to hospital." Rory said.

"Is she okay? Are you getting a new sibling?" Lane asked and saw that Rory was not as excited about the prospect of a new brother or sister at the moment.

"I should go to the hospital," Rory said as she packed her phone in her bag. "But what should I do?" Lane looked confused at the sudden segue in the conversation.

"I thought you were going to the hospital," Lane said, unsure.

"Yeah, but which newspaper?" Rory asked. She had come here for Lane's advice and may as well ask once more before she left.

"Do what you think is right." Lane said as she led Rory to the front door.

"That's a little cryptic," Rory commented.

"It's my way of saying 'I don't know and I hope you figure it out,'" Lane explained and Rory laughed as she left the house. She then drove in her old Prius to Hartford Memorial hospital, hoping that her mother would be alright and that she would know what to do with her life.

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When Luke and Lorelai eventually arrived at the hospital, she had woken up and had become rather chipper. She was constantly talking about how she was fine and really didn't need to be there. Both Luke and the doctor ignored her as they wheeled her off to a room. Eventually she quietened down and began to pester the doctor about why she had been taken to hospital. Lorelai also looked around at the other people in the hospital, waiting for Rory to arrive. She was worried that Rory wouldn't know what was going on and wouldn't arrive. Hell, she didn't even know what was happening. Her water hadn't broken but it could have been because she decided to abandon the notion of 'bed rest.' Even Lorelai Gilmore went stir-crazy after being confined to a bed too long. When they reached the room that she would be staying in, Lorelai heard a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Rory!" Lorelai said excitedly as they transferred her over to the hospital bed. Rory Gilmore entered the room a little out of breath from running and went over to hug her mother.

"Mom, Luke, George Clooney," Rory greeted the others as she took a seat by Lorelai's bed. The doctor questioned the 'George Clooney' reference but shrug it off when no one explained. "So, what's happening?" Rory asked.

"Well, it's probably just her stress levels rising because she wasn't resting." The doctor said.

"I got bored of bed rest," Lorelai explained and Rory rolled her eyes. Luke began to lecture her but his wife shushed him. After the doctor left, Luke breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the bed. "So, have you decided on a newspaper yet?" Lorelai asked her daughter.

"I'm still thinking but I need to decide fast." Rory said.

"What did Lane say?" She asked.

"Not much. She tried to help and we talked about it for a while. I made a Pro/Con list and that didn't help either." Rory said and Lorelai assured her that she would probably make the right decision. "I think I'm close to a decision though." She said. Rory decided to take this opportunity to get a cup of coffee and leave her mother and stepfather alone for a while. She wandered through the fairly unfamiliar walls of the hospital, passing people with IV drips hanging out of them. Eventually spotting the cafeteria, she ordered a cup of coffee and sat down at a table in the corner. Rory sipped at her coffee before declaring it almost undrinkable. She spotted a newspaper stand in the corner of her eye and went over to retrieve a copy of _The New York Times _and _The Philadelphia Inquirer_. Rory skimmed the content and style of writing in both newspapers and pondered about where she would rather live. Of course she had always wanted to live in New York and work at the _Times _but Jess kept popping back into her mind. She hardly saw him at the moment and they were supposed to be in a relationship. They had talked on the phone a lot but it wasn't quite the same anymore. Rory was excited at the prospect that she would see Jess when her mother would go into labour. In frustration, she tossed the newspapers aside and dialled a familiar number.

"Hey Jess, guess what?" Rory said.

**A/N: So Rory has now made a decision! Please review! **


	28. Doing the Splits on a Crate of Dynamite

Chapter Twenty-Eight

**A/N: Hello there! First of all, thank you so much to Summer2391 who reviewed and to those who added this story to Alerts or Favourites. I'm sad to say that this will probably be the second-last chapter of the story. So, it'll be good to end it but also sad. I do have other stories that I would like to write so I may get to work on those, like Juror Duty. **

**Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Onto the chapter! **

Lorelai Gilmore was excited that she would finally be able to go home. After a few days in a hospital bed, supposedly relaxing, she had grown tired of the unusual smell of the place. Rory Gilmore arrived to visit her mother, holding a large bouquet of flowers. Luke was also there packing up his wife's few belongings.

"Hey there," Rory greeted as she placed the flowers on the small tray table on the bed. Her mother kissed her on the cheek in greeting.

"Luke's being mean to me." Lorelai said and Rory rolled her eyes.

"Hello Rory. She's being very fussy about how she wants her clothes packed." Luke said and Rory laughed. "Can't you just be happy about going home?" Luke said and Rory decided to help with the packing. Lorelai laid back in her bed, milking the opportunity of others working for her.

"So, I went home and did a small Donna Reed makeover to the house," Rory said and Lorelai raised her eyebrow at her. All of them only remembered Rory's Donna Reed night with Dean only too well. "I only mean that I slightly tidied the house for your arrival home." She explained.

"And you didn't wait for me to do the ritual Mother-Daughter window washing?" Lorelai mocked as Rory shrugged. Luke suggested that they focused on taking her home but were interrupted by the sound of another voice. Rory turned to see a doctor standing in the doorway, clutching a brown clipboard with her mother's file. Next to him was a wheelchair and he gave them a rather mischievous glance at the family.

"Thought you might need this," he said gesturing to the wheelchair. Luke thanked the doctor and helped Lorelai into it. Rory picked up her bag as they walked her mother through the halls. During her weeklong stay, she had managed to make a variety of friends and enemies in the hospital.

"Oh, Rory, that's the guy who stole my decaffeinated coffee. Any chance we can trip him over?" Lorelai said with a sly smile and Luke steered her far away from the man in question. As they passed through the halls, they waved to the familiar-looking nurses and doctors. Pain started to shoot through Lorelai's body again and she attempted to hide it from everyone. They had eventually made it to her Jeep outside in the Disabled spot. Luke helped Lorelai to stand up and walk over to the car but she started to panic.

"Luke, maybe we should let her sit a while." Rory suggested, suddenly worried about her mother's health. However, she insisted on being able to make it home. The moment she took another step towards the car, water gushed out onto the pavement and Lorelai collapsed back into the wheelchair.

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Over an hour later, Rory crashed into a chair next to Luke's in the waiting room of the maternity ward. She and Luke had managed to find a nurse to move her there and Rory had offered to call Emily and Richard from their vacation. Both of them were too exhausted to speak another word even though it was only ten in the morning. She wondered whether she would call anyone else such as Sookie and Jackson or even Jess. It would take a while for them to arrive but Rory had heard that labour often took a few hours. She knew that Lorelai probably wouldn't have wanted anyone other than Sookie and Jackson there but Rory definitely needed to talk to Jess. Mustering up the energy to leave the slightly uncomfortable chair, she offered to go get tea and coffee. Rory had recently become an expert in navigating the hospital halls and finding the decent vending machines. She would need a cup of coffee to handle various relatives and friends all day. Rory entered the cafeteria and immediately sat down at the quiet table in the corner. She had become fairly fond of this spot when she needed to make important phone calls or read a book as a nice change of pace. Rory pulled out her phone and dialled The Dragonfly. A gruff Michel answered the phone and Rory suddenly perked up at the idea of torturing him.

Michel: Dragonfly Inn, Michel speaking.

Rory: Hey Michel, it's Rory. Guess what?

Michel: Has Lorelai died?

Rory: No, she's having a baby!

Michel: Oh, really?

Rory: Yes and we were thinking of naming it after you. Your name could really work for either a boy or a girl.

Michel: Was there something you wanted?

Rory: Can I please speak to Sookie?

Michel: Fine.

Rory waited impatiently on the phone, listening to the sounds of happy families enjoying Sookie's famous pancakes or French toast. It sounded a lot like Luke's Diner except fancier. Michel certainly took his time reaching the kitchen and a strange sound indicated that he had almost dropped the phone onto the metal bench. An exasperated Sookie St James finally answered the phone.

Sookie: Rory?

Rory: Hey there. I just thought I'd call and let you know that Mom's in labour at Hartford Memorial hospital.

Sookie: Oh, she is! I'm coming right now as soon as I find Jackson and the kids. But we will be there. Thanks for calling me sweetie.

Rory: You're welcome. Feel free to take your time; she probably won't be out for a while.

Sookie: Oh this is so exciting. I'll see you there soon.

Rory: See you soon! Bye.

She hung up the phone suddenly feeling happy about everything. Sookie's vast amounts of energy always had that effect on her when she was a small child. Feeling her energy return, she dialled Jess' number without thinking. One of the other men working at Truncheon answered the phone and she asked for Jess. There was a slight snicker as the phone was passed to Jess; clearly they knew who she was by now, especially after having already met her. When he finally answered the phone, Rory relaxed despite the sudden butterflies in her stomach. Their conversations last week about her jobs had all gone well but she was yet to break the big news to him. Nerves had gotten in the way every time.

Rory: Hey, how fast can you get to Hartford?

Jess: A few hours. Why?

Rory: Mom's in labour and I thought you might like to join the party.

Jess: Well, congratulations on the future sibling but I figured that this would be a girl thing.

Rory: Not entirely. Luke, Grandpa and Jackson will all here. Plus the male doctors but only the handsome ones are coming to the party.

Jess: Huh.

Rory: And I wouldn't hate your company. Please come?

Jess: Alright, I'm leaving nowish.

Rory: Great, see you later.

Jess: Bye.

Rory hung up the phone in almost satisfaction. Now she would definitely have to tell him that she wanted to go to Philadelphia. Her mother was likely to mock her forever for wanting to live in the City of Brotherly Love but that would be fun. She suddenly remembered the whole reason that she had gone to the cafeteria in the first place and ordered a tea for Luke and a coffee for herself. When she had gotten the hot beverages, she headed back to the waiting room where Luke was waiting. She gave the tea to him and sat down with her coffee as Emily, Richard and April Nardini arrived.

"I called her when you were gone," Luke said in reference to his daughter's arrival. Rory nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Where is she?" Emily demanded and Rory said that she was in one of the rooms.

"Emily, why don't we sit and wait?" Richard said as they both sat down. April opted for sitting next to her father as she exchanged a greeting with Rory.

"Hey Grandma and Grandpa. I think Mom is going to be a while," Rory said before turning to Luke. "So, I've called Sookie and Jackson who should be here soon. And I also called Jess but it's going to take him a few hours to get here." She said and noticed Emily's shock at the mention of Jess coming; Rory couldn't believe that she still remembered the awful dinner with the three of them. "I promise he'll behave," Rory assured her but that did little to relieve her anxiety. Luckily, Sookie and Jackson arrived and Luke went to greet them, allowing Rory and April to catch up.

"So, how's MIT going?" Rory asked and April began to tell her about the different experiments that she was doing there. Although Rory had to struggle a little with the scientific lingo, Richard had surprisingly managed to keep up. She wondered whether he had been researching April's course. Once she was done, Richard and Emily enquired after her recent employment situation. "Well, I've been accepted to work at either _The New York Times _and _The Philadelphia Inquirer_." She announced and they were both surprised at the latter option.

"And have you chosen where you would like to work?" Richard asked.

"What nonsense! She's going to work at _The Times_; she's wanted to work there for as long as she's wanted to be a journalist." Emily said.

"I thought it was the CNN because she wanted to be like Christiane Amanpour." Richard said and Rory sat back in the chair as they argued over where she wanted to work.

"Yes, then after that she wanted to work at _The New York Times_." Emily said and April laughed as she watched the conversation.

"I'm going to Philadelphia," she announced and her grandparents immediately stopped talking.

"What? Why? What about New York? What happened? It was that juvenile delinquent your mother insisted on allowing you to fraternise with." Emily demanded.

"I can go to New York later but right now I want to go to Philadelphia. _The Inquirer _is a perfectly respectable newspaper and I would be very happy there." Rory said and Emily proceeded to discuss this with Richard. "I hope," She added quietly. She suddenly became very nervous as she watched their debate. April quietly congratulated her as her father came back with Sookie and Jackson. Ignoring her grandparents, she stood and hugged them in a greeting. The whole group listened to the debate and Rory decided to cut in and end it all.

"Please stop, we're here for Mom." She said and Emily sighed.

"You're correct Rory. _We _will support you no matter which newspaper you work at as long as you're happy." Richard said and Rory thanked them. Now that that was finished, the whole group sat in the chairs patiently waiting. April pulled out her homework that she had managed to bring. Richard and Rory each pulled out a book while Emily looked over her notebook and began to shift around her appointments for the week. It was clear that she intended to spend a lot of time with her daughter and meet her new grandchild. Luke, Sookie and Jackson had taken to talking about different things in Stars Hollow as well as cooking techniques. Rory anxiously checked her watch in between chapters and also kept peering at the door to see if Jess had arrived. He should be here soon though.

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A couple of hours later, Jess Mariano finally arrived much to the relief of Rory and Luke. Dropping her book, she ran over to him and hugged him as though it had been months. Luke also shook Jess' hand when he and Rory had parted to let him through. He explained that Lorelai had finally gone into the delivery room and Jess immediately lost interest. He didn't want to hear about this. Rory placed her arm around his waist as she led him over to the rest of the group.

"Lively party," he said as she introduced him to Richard and refreshed his memory about the others. Sookie and Jackson were polite to him and Emily, for the most part, ignored his presence. When Rory explained that Jess had written a book, Richard became intrigued and struck a conversation with him about his favourite books. Rory was only too eager to join in as well, which also piqued April's interest. During this time, Emily was able to ask Sookie to cater for a few events over the following weeks, which Luke found a little amusing.

A little while later, Rory offered to go for another coffee run for everyone. Everyone had wanted a cup of coffee except for Richard, Emily and Luke. Jess even offered to assist her and they slowly walked towards the cafeteria. Rory was grateful that she would finally have a chance to talk to Jess alone.

"So, I'm assuming you're heading in the right direction" he said as a conversation starter and Rory nodded. She was suddenly very nervous once again but decided that it was now or never.

"So, you remember how I got those jobs in New York and Philadelphia?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, have you chosen one?" He asked and Rory took a deep breath. "You're going to New York, aren't you?" Jess said, suddenly also feeling nervous about this.

"Why would you say that?" Rory asked even though she knew the answer. Everyone was well aware that she had always wanted to work at _The New York Times_, even Jess. She looked at him waiting for an answer but he remained silent. "I was thinking of coming to Philadelphia actually." She said and Jess smiled instead of his usual smirk. "I haven't hashed out the details of where to live or anything." Rory started as Jess' lips came crashing down on hers, depriving her of oxygen. He could feel her smile as he kissed her. When they finally parted, Rory saw that Jess was sporting that one smile that had always been for her. "I'm guessing this is a good thing." She said, breathlessly.

"Yeah, it is. Are you serious though? What about your dream to go to New York?" Jess asked, just to double check.

"New York's not going anywhere." She said as she took his hand and led him through the hospital corridors to the cafeteria. Jess followed her in amazement; it was most likely the best thing that had happened to him after meeting Rory Gilmore. Dazed, he was unable to think about anything else. She surely couldn't stay with him and the other guys above Truncheon Books. But that didn't matter; she was coming to Philadelphia. Rory noticed that he was almost glowing as much as she was when they reached the cafeteria. Jess sat down in the nearest chair while she ordered the different types of coffee. Afterwards, she joined him and took his hand once again.

"I just don't believe it. You're actually going to give up your dream to be with me." He said and Rory smiled at him.

"I'm not giving up my dream; I'm fulfilling it." She said as she kissed him once again. Jess placed his other arm around her, pulling her closer. As he deepened the kiss, they were interrupted by a crackly voice.

"I remember those days of young love," an old lady said at another table. Rory and Jess pulled away to look at the older couple who laughed at them.

"That's so cute," Rory said as her face went red with embarrassment. Jess took a few of the cups as they went back to the waiting room.

Once they had arrived and had handed out the beverages to their respective recipients, Rory noticed a newcomer was sitting with Sookie and Jackson. The blonde head turned and she saw that Zach had arrived.

"Hey Zach," Rory greeted him.

"Hi Rory. Lane's just gone into labour," he explained and Rory's eyes went wide with shock.

"Lane's pregnant too?" Jess asked, smirking at Rory, who quickly confirmed this fact. "Your friends have certainly been getting busy," he said sarcastically, causing Luke and Zach to blush accordingly. Rory playfully hit his arm as a light punishment.

"Well, isn't this all very convenient? Now they will have the same birthday!" Rory said. She was suddenly very excited about the arrivals of new babies to play with. Although she was intending on moving to Philadelphia, Rory was sure that she would miss them almost as much as they missed her. She was also secretly relieved and excited that a new baby would probably distract her when she was living in Philadelphia. Just as a lull occurred in the various conversations, a pretty nurse in a white jacket showed up and they all looked up at her expectantly.

"A Lorelai Gilmore has come out of the delivery room and is staying in room 2B43." She said. Rory and Luke both stood up at the same time. "Congratulations, it's a boy." The nurse said with a wide smile on her face. Luke and Rory hugged each other excitedly with rounds of 'congratulations' from everyone else. The nurse informed them that she was a little tired from labour and only one visitor would be allowed. Rory gestured to Luke that he should go see her first and he thanked her quietly. Luke Danes then followed the nurse through the hospital to see his wife. As Rory sat back down next to Jess, a loud scream pierced through the maternity ward. Zach smiled gleefully at this noise and Rory raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's Lane," he explained.

Luke Danes was nervous and excited about seeing his newborn child. The nurse led him to a window where there at least twenty babies lined up but Luke could see his immediately; he had inherited Lorelai's deep blue eyes. Unsure of what to do, Luke smiled at him thinking of all the things he would have to teach him, beyond the obvious. Luke couldn't wait to see that first smile, the first step, the first day of school; all the things he had missed out on with April. Images flashed through his mind of him and his son fishing at the lake or camping in the forest. Although Lorelai said that she didn't mind what gender the baby would be, he had secretly wanted a boy.

"Would you like to see your wife?" She asked and Luke nodded, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. "I'll bring your baby to you and Mrs Gilmore." She said as she pointed to the door of Lorelai's room. Stunned, Luke stumbled towards the room and saw that Lorelai was asleep in the hospital bed. He decided to go inside anyway. She started to stir at his presence and smiled at her husband.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Luke asked and she mumbled about being sleepy. "We have a baby boy," he said, still reeling from seeing the newborn. The nurse brought him into the room as promised and placed him in Lorelai's arms; her eyes suddenly lighting up at the sight of him. Luke leaned over and kissed her on the cheek; he loved seeing her so happy. "We need to name him." He said and Lorelai nodded.

"I already have a name for him. William Lucas Danes-Gilmore." She said. "I know how much your father meant to you. It only seemed right to name him after him and you." Lorelai explained and wiped away a small tear on her husband's cheek. He then peered over and watched his little son gurgle indescribable sounds and kick his tiny legs.

An hour later, Sookie, Jackson, Jess, Richard and Emily arrived in Lorelai's room to see the newest addition to their family. Sookie pulled Lorelai into a bone-crunching hug while the others cooed over the bright pink newborn child.

"Congratulations Lorelai." Emily said as she touched Lorelai's shoulder as a sign of affection. Richard, as per usual, presented a white envelope containing a cheque. Lorelai rolled her eyes and thanked him as he explained that babies were very expensive. She noticed that Jess was standing in the corner and slightly waved at him. Gaining his confidence, he approached Lorelai and congratulated her.

"Where's Rory?" Lorelai asked and Jess said that she was with Lane and Zach but would be here soon. She sighed at that but continued to give her attention to Sookie and Jackson. Jess decided to break into the conversation once again.

"Rory told me to ask you something." He said, handing her a slip of paper. Opening the paper, Lorelai laughed out loud as she read the contents. Confusion crossed everyone's face and Lorelai gave it to Jess to read aloud. It would be entertaining to watch him squirm. He cleared his throat in preparation

"Was it like doing the splits on a crate of dynamite?" He read and laughter erupted from everyone as Jess blushed.

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Rory Gilmore sat in the chair next to Lane's bed after she had returned from the delivery room not long after Lorelai. Zach entered the room making plane noises as he carried a small newborn baby. It certainly seemed to be the day for gurgling babies. Lane cooed as Zach handed the baby to him.

"We've got ourselves a little lady," he said and Rory laughed at him.

"She's so tiny," Rory said as she reached out her pinkie finger for the baby to hold on to. "What are you going to name her?" She asked as she made faces at the baby. Lane and Zach looked at each other nervously; they hadn't really thought of a name yet, but there was time for that. Rory looked up at her best friend when she realised that she hadn't received a response.

"We don't know" Lane confessed and Rory shrugged. "How about something Korean?" She suggested. "Or Rory."

"Yeah?" Rory asked, thinking that they had merely wanted her attention.

"No, we name her Rory." Lane said and Zach agreed. Rory had been a big help with babysitting Steve and Kwan. Embarrassment washed over her as she looked at them both.

"You can't name her Rory" she protested. "It's very sweet though."

"Why not?" Zach asked and before Rory could respond, Jess arrived at the door. Sighing, she removed her finger from the little baby's grasp and stood to leave.

"Okay, not that you need my permission. I would love it if you named your daughter 'Rory.'" She said and Lane squealed with excitement. Walking out of the room, Jess' arm immediately found its way around Rory's waist as he led her down the corridor.

"Baby Rory, huh?" Jess said and Rory's face flushed red once again. "I think it's cute."

"Thanks. Did you give Mom my note?" Rory enquired and this time it was Jess' turn to be embarrassed. "She made you read it aloud?" Jess nodded in confirmation and she kissed him on the cheek. When they finally reached her mother's hospital room, Jess focussed on trying not to blush anymore.

Lorelai's face lit up as she spotted her daughter enter the room with Jess Mariano. She rushed over and hugged her mother, noticing the baby in her arms.

"Lane's baby is a girl," she said as she stood back and Lorelai smiled excitedly.

"Now that Rory's here, I think we can announce the name of our new child." Luke said and everyone immediately simmered down, eager to properly initiate the baby into the real world. Silence hung over the group for a few seconds when Jess told him to hurry up. Rory playfully hit him again and Luke just glared at his mischievous nephew. "William Lucas Danes-Gilmore." Sookie and Jackson erupted into loud cheers and encouraged everyone else to join. Richard, Emily and Jess remained silent but managed to congratulate Lorelai and Luke. Amidst the celebrations, Lorelai started to fall back asleep and Rory decided to usher everyone else out of the hospital room. Rory sat down on a chair and Luke moved little William to the small bassinet next to the hospital bed and watched him fall asleep.

**A/N: So yay for little babies! Yes, the names are a tad unoriginal but I'm terrible at coming up with names. Maybe that's why I write Fanfiction… because there are already names for most of the characters!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**Please review! Pretty please? **


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